


Behind the Shield

by buffalo1221



Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-09
Updated: 2015-05-11
Packaged: 2018-03-17 04:12:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 50
Words: 92,948
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3514880
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/buffalo1221/pseuds/buffalo1221
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ashlyn is a young Detective who has a mysterious brunette thrown into the mix.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Too Good to Be True

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a new idea so I figured I'd run with it. Hope you enjoy!!

“Do you know why I pulled you over this morning, ma’am?” 

“No I don’t officer,” replied the woman politely, offering up a small smile to improve her chances.

“I clocked you going 75 in a 55. I’m going to need your license and registration please.”

“Are you sure we have to go through all of that? Maybe you could just let it go this one time?” The brunette flashed a coy smile.

She looked through the open window at the gorgeous woman in front of her. She noticed her bright smile and how she was seductively blinking her eyelashes to woo her. As flattered as she was, she wasn’t in the mood. Not today, not after everything that had happened. “I’m sorry, but twenty miles over the speed limit is too much around here. I’ll need to see that license and registration.” She smiled weakly, trying to appease the woman who had begun to pout.

After digging through the glove compartment box she pulled out her wallet. She gave the officer her license and registration with a big huff and slight resentment. Usually she never had any trouble getting out of tickets, but this cop wasn’t falling for her usual tricks. For once, she wished she would have gotten pulled over by a male cop. “Here you go,” she said dryly and extended her hand with the documents to the officer.

“Thank you…” she looked down at the license, “Alex. I’ll be right back.”

Through the side mirror of her car, the woman watched the officer stroll back to her vehicle and step inside. She couldn’t help the small grin that washed over her face as she watched her hips sway and saw how her muscles filled out the top she was wearing. Even though she was going to get a ticket, maybe she could still get a date out of the encounter.

After ten minutes, the Officer came back to her car and tapped on the window for her to lower it again. She complied and maintained a wide grin even as she handed her a ticket along with her license and registration. She couldn’t help but marvel over how hot the officer looked in her uniform. Her hair was pulled back into a tight bun and her aviators simply accentuated her facial features and chiseled jawline. 

“Your court date is listed on that top corner there and you must mail in your plea by the date marked underneath it,” she said as she pointed to the top right corner. Her words jerked the woman from her stupor. “Just try to keep your speed down around here. I don’t want to have to pull you over again, alright, Alex?”

The woman looked up at her and smiled. “Of course. Thank you Officer Harris,” she said as she pointed to the name stitched onto the pocket of her uniform, her finger lingering dangerously close to the fabric. “I’ll make sure I’m more careful from now on. Although I’m sure I wouldn’t mind getting pulled over again if it was you doing it,” she said with a sultry grin and wink. 

Ashlyn wasn’t going to bite. Not this time. “Just make sure you stick to the speed limit,” she said with a sense of finality. She turned quickly to walk back to her vehicle, but not quickly enough to miss the slight hurt in the brunettes deep brown eyes. She felt bad, but knew she had a job to do. After what slacking on her job had recently cost her, she was determined to be more committed and aware than ever before. Even if it meant throwing the book at brunettes who were shamelessly flirting with her. And even if that brunette happened to be really sexy.

The rest of the day on traffic duty dragged on. She stopped a few more people for traffic infractions, writing tickets to every one of them no matter how sob the story. It was after all her job. In between pulling people over, she just sat in her car listening to the music that was playing softly over the speakers and occasionally glanced to the empty seat next to her. Every time it made her sad and she would quickly divert her eyes back to the road to find someone else to take her anger out on. When someone zoomed by going 25 over the speed limit, she found her culprit. After clicking on the lights she pulled out into the highway to speed after them. They weren’t going to get away. No one was getting away from her again.

A few hours later, she pulled back into the station. It had been a long day and she wanted nothing more than to head home, take a shower and curl up on the couch with some pizza. She strolled into the building and made her way over to her desk. There was a stack of papers piled high and she groaned when she remembered how behind on her reports she was. She knew the Captain had cut her some slack, but that would only last for so long. After checking her watch she took a deep breath and sighed. “Might as well get a few hours of paperwork in,” she whispered to herself as she plopped down in her chair.

An hour later she was completely engrossed in the reports, with her mind only occasionally slipping back to the smile of the brunette she had pulled over that day. Still, she shook the thought from her head and carried on with her work. She felt good that she was finally getting some of it out of the way and felt even better that the pile was slowly beginning to shrink. A few more days of staying late and she figured she could get all caught up. As much as she wanted to be home, she realized that there wasn’t much to go home to. No woman, no dog, and no food in the fridge. She shrugged, “Might as well stay at work,” she said quietly. 

A rough voice dragged her from her thoughts. “Harris do you have a minute? I’d like to see you in my office.”

She sighed and slid her chair out from her desk to head towards her Lieutenant’s office. Her heart began to skip a beat in anticipation of where this conversation was heading. She knew it could go many ways, but her mind was fixated on one. After taking a deep breath to settle her nerves she stepped into his office and tried her best to muster a smile and instill some confidence in the man.

“Have a seat, Harris,” said the older man as he pointed to the chair in front of his desk. 

Ash looked at the greying man in front of her and obliged. She secretly hoped that him asking her to sit down meant this was going to be a long conversation. She sat down in the chair and leaned back, waiting for whatever was coming next.

The man furrowed his brow a bit and looked to her nervously fidgeting hands. “How are things going with you, Ash?” he said, his tone softening some to match the gravity of his question.

“They’re alright, Lieutenant. I’m just sick of being on traffic duty all the time,” she grumbled in an attempt to get her out of something she hated.

He sighed and shook his head before sitting back in his own chair. “You know after everything that happened we thought it was best that you took some time off the streets. I just need to make sure your mind is right again before I put you back in the city.”

She sighed loudly and dropped her eyes to her feet. “I know. But I promise you I’m doing alright now. I’ve been talking to the therapist like I promised and I’m feeling really good.”

He looked back at her with scrunched eyebrows and a contemplative look. “You sure about that, Harris?”

“Absolutely positive, Sir. I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t mean it.” Her voice was eager and she felt like her wish might actually be granted. 

“Alright, Detective. We’re going to assign you back to the Narcotics unit. But if I hear you miss one step, your ass is going back to traffic in a heartbeat.” His voice was stern and she knew he wasn’t messing around.

“You got it. And I promise I won’t let you down, Lieutenant!” she was ecstatic and the smile on her face let it show. No more pulling over people for traffic infractions, she was going back out on the streets with her brothers. She couldn’t wait to be riding around the city, with her freedom back.

As she stood up to leave, he put his hand up in the air to stop her and motioned for her to sit down again. She complied, but didn’t like the look her was giving her. “What’s up?” she cautiously asked.

“I need to tell you something. There is one stipulation here Detective…”

Just then there was a knock on the door that cut him off and Lieutenant Pierce’s face lit up a bit. “Ah just in time,” he said in a chipper tone. “Detective Harris I would like you to meet Officer Krieger, your new partner.”


	2. The First Encounter

Her face dropped and she could immediately feel the knot forming in her throat. “No...I…I don’t need a partner, sir. I don’t want another partner!” She didn’t even turn to look at the person standing behind her. She didn’t need to because no matter who it was, she would never want another partner. 

“We’re not sending you back out there on your own,” said the Lieutenant in a stern tone. “Officer Krieger is your new partner whether you like it or not.”

“I don’t need a new partner!” she yelled, her tone rising a bit louder than expected as the all emotions stirred inside of her again. “I’m fine on my own. Brody and Rodgers don’t have partners and they’re fine too!”

His face turned serious as he placed his hands firmly on his desk before meeting Ashlyn’s panicky gaze. “Ash, you know I feel just as bad about Walker’s death as anyone here, but you can’t go back to Narcotics without someone to ride with. Especially after what happened you should know this is the right call.”

“I don’t think I can handle having another right now,” she said hotly. “Especially not some rookie cop that thinks he’s a hot shot and probably doesn’t know a damn thing about being a police officer!” she slammed her fist down on the desk in anger as she could feel her blood beginning to boil. The last thing she wanted to do was get paired up with some young hot shot guy that was going to think he called all the shots. Her and Walker had working together for six years and there was no way she was going to take the time to get to know another partner. No one could replace Walker in her mind or in the passenger seat of her patrol car. No one.

“Well then maybe you aren’t as ready as I thought you were,” he trailed off, waiting for a response to judge whether or not she was truly ready.

Ashlyn could feel her opportunity slipping away through her fingers as her Lieutenant looked sympathetically at the officer standing in the doorway. As much as she couldn’t bear to have another partner so soon after what happened to Walker, she knew no partner meant no narcotics unit. After taking a deep sigh she gave in. “Fine,” she grumbled angrily under her breath. She spun around, “Nice to meet you Officer Krieger…” Her voice trailed off and eyes went wide as she was met with the biggest pair of soft brown eyes that she had ever seen. For a moment she got lost in them and couldn’t look away as a slight smile began to creep across her face. Unfortunately for Ashlyn, they were also paired with the biggest scowl she had ever seen.

“Nice to meet you to Detective Harris,” the woman retorted back to her in a snarky tone. “I’m Ali Krieger and no I’m not some rookie that thinks he’s a hot shot.”

She turned on heels and stormed out of the office, infuriated and embarrassed. Ali had initially been excited about working with one of the departments best Detectives, but now she was just shaking with anger and wanted to be as far from the woman as possible at the moment. Normally she wouldn’t lose her cool like that, but something in the woman’s voice and the fact that she had already passed judgment on her didn’t sit well with Ali. She sighed as she pushed through the front door to the parking lot to get some air. 

A few minutes later she heard the door swing open behind her and she cringed when she heard the all too familiar voice. 

“Hey.”

“Hi,” she replied to the blonde Detective without even turning around. 

“Listen, I don’t want to start out on the wrong foot here so...”

“I think that ship has already sailed!” Ali cut her off hotly. She didn’t know what had come over her, but something about Detective Harris had ignited a fire in her and she couldn’t control it. She had graduated top of her class and after less than a year on the job had already been promoted to the narcotics unit when they lost some members. Even the men in her field respected her and wanted to work with her, but this Harris woman was something else. She hadn’t even given her a chance and now Ali was going to return the favor. 

“Will you just listen to me for a god damn minute?” she asked in an irritated tone as she stepped towards Ali.

The woman scoffed and shook her head. “Please. I think I’ve heard more than enough already. Look I get it. You don’t want another partner. I’m sorry about what happened to Walker, but this is my job and I take it seriously. I graduated top of my class and I assure you I can hold my own. So please don’t sit there and insult me before you even know me!”

Ashlyn met Ali’s fiery glare with a similar look of her own. “Listen, the Lieutenant sent me out here to...”

Her eyes went wide again as she stepped towards the blonde. “Oh so the Lieutenant had to send you out here to apologize? Really, Harris? You don’t even want to be out here apologizing so save it. Don’t waste my time.”

Now Ashlyn was on edge. She wasn’t used to anyone talking to her like this, especially not since she had been promoted to Detective. “Apologize? Who the hell said I was coming out here to apologize?” she shouted back incredulously. “I have nothing to be sorry for and I meant every word I said. I don’t care if you graduated top of your class or that you had a couple good busts. I don’t need a partner and I sure as hell don’t need a partner with an attitude like yours!”

Ali’s shoulders slumped a bit as the other woman’s voice began to rise. Her first day in the new department she had been so excited about joining was really not starting off the way she had anticipated. If Ashlyn really thought she had nothing to apologize for then she wasn’t going to give her the time of day anymore. “Well if you have nothing to apologize for then I think we’re done here,” she said as she roughly brushed past Ashlyn with a hurt look in her eyes and back into the station.

Ashlyn sighed and then followed quickly behind, ready to have round two. However, when she stormed into the building to find her brunette partner, it was full of people and she didn’t want to cause a scene and embarrass herself. Looking around for the brunette, she unfortunately made eye contact with the Lieutenant first. He simply shook his head at her and folded his arms in annoyance. 

“Fix this, Harris. She just left for the day, but you both start Monday at 8am and I won’t have you two at each other’s necks all the time. Show me you can work with another partner or you’re going back to traffic,” he said sternly, his voice leaving no doubt on his sincerity.

“Yes sir,” she murmured before making her way back to her desk. She grabbed her things and threw them in her beg and then signed out of her computer. Although she had planned on finishing up some more paper work before heading home, she figured a few rounds with the heavy bag was exactly what she needed to get her frustrations towards a certain Officer Krieger out.


	3. The First Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyyyyy how bout that USA win today! To celebrate...here's a chapter lol

Ashlyn groaned when the alarm clock went off in the morning. A day she should have been excited for – going back to the narcotics unit – was now a day that she was dreading. She definitely did not want to see Officer Krieger’s angry face first thing in the morning. And the last thing she wanted to hear was her snarky, challenging attitude. Still, she knew there was work to be done so she shrugged off the covers and made her way to the bathroom for a shower.

An hour later she pulled up to the station in her Jeep and parked in in her familiar spot. She hopped out and grabbed her bag from the passenger seat before slamming the door behind her. She took a deep breath and smoothed out her button up top after glancing around the parking lot to make sure no one was watching her. After looking at her reflection in the side mirror and tucking a few stray hairs behind her ear she walked into the office and headed to her desk. She was early, it was only 7:00am, because she wanted to get there before Ali. There was no way she was going to let some rookie cop get to work before her and show her up.

She was well into her second read through the case file when she heard the daunting voice behind her.

“Morning, Detective.” The statement wasn’t overly laden with hatred, but it wasn’t necessarily polite either. 

Ashlyn spun around in her chair to meet Ali’s gaze. “Good morning Officer Krieger,” she replied dryly. “Ready to go? I’m sure you already read up on the case file.” She sat back in her chair to watch Ali squirm. She knew as the lead Detective she should be the one to brief her, but she wanted to gain the upper hand she felt she had lost the day before. 

“I…uh…I didn’t know we already had a case. There was no file on my desk yesterday or anything.” 

She looked panicked and Ashlyn knew she had her right where she wanted her. “You should have gotten here early this morning then. I put it on your desk when I got in at 7.”

Ali fidgeted a bit on her feet and looked down into the ground. She knew her first impression definitely wasn’t going well, but part of her didn’t care about that. She was more upset that she had failed to do her job than about what Detective Harris thought about her. “Well I guess now I know to get here early so I can read the last minute files you place on my desk,” she replied flatly. There was nothing else she could say and this way she was able to put some of the blame back on Ashlyn. She tensed up, waiting for the callous response she was sure to get.

The blonde smiled internally at how bold she was and how Ali was so easily able to push the blame back on her, but didn’t let it show. She was just about to chastise her when she saw Lieutenant Pierce step out of his office and cast a knowing glance in their direction. She sighed and looked up at Ali who she could tell was expecting a retaliation. For the time being – and while Pierce was in earshot – she decided to grant her some mercy. “Yeah that would be nice. Are you ready to go? You can catch up on the file on the way.”

A bit of tension lifted between the two at Ashlyn’s brief parley. Ali took a deep breath and hurried off to her desk to grab her jacket and files. She returned a minute later, and tried to muster a smile. “Ready when you are, Harris.”

Ashlyn looked back up at her and had to keep herself from shaking her head. Ali was standing in front of her in a form fitting red blouse, covered by a light grey coat with black jeans. Her hair was pulled up in a messy bun with wisps of hear cascading down and framing her face. Her smile – albeit a forced one – was pearly white and stretched from ear to ear. To put it simple, the woman looked like she belonged on a magazine cover, not riding shotgun in a cop car. There was no way that this pretty face could be a top notch officer. Still, she had to try and make it work so she wouldn’t find herself back in traffic. She thought for sure the boredom would kill her.

Ashlyn grabbed her badge and gun from her desk drawer. She holstered her gun and slung her badge around her neck. “After you,” she said and pointed for Ali to lead them out the door. 

Ali turned on her heels and made her way out to the parking lot, only to freeze when she got there. She had no idea which car was theirs and angered a bit when she realized it was just another one of Ashlyn’s attempts to humiliate her. Turning back towards Ash who was standing a few feet behind her, she refused to back down. “Which one?” she questioned and pointed to the row of cars that lined the exterior of the building. The tone was sweet, but anyone could tell it dripped with cynicism.

Ash didn’t answer, but clicked the unlock button and let Ali’s eyes trace the line to find the blinking lights. She heard her mumble “asshole” under her breath while she stormed to the car, but knew she deserved it so she let it go. Besides, she couldn’t deny that the brunette looked kind of cute when she was fuming mad. 

Once in the car, they fell into an uncomfortable, awkward silence. Ali sat as close to the door as possible, to put as much distance as she could between their bodies. The mood in the car was tense and poisonous and she wished she was anywhere but in that car, with this Detective. She pretended to read through the files, but couldn’t help but think how disappointed she was. Everyone had talked so highly of Detective Harris and through the stories from both inside and outside of work, she couldn’t wait to work with her. She had even studied up on her cases so that she knew how she worked and what type of style she used. From what everyone told her that had been around her, Detective Harris was kind and selfless and so easy going. She didn’t know what those people were talking about though because this Detective Harris was anything but. This version of her was cruel, cold and judgmental. She knew that her partner had died a few months ago, but thought she would be excited to get off of traffic and interact with another officer. Oh how wrong she had been.

Ashlyn sat next to Ali and kept her eyes glued on the road. Her jaw was tense and her knuckles were white from gripping the steering wheel so tightly. Occasionally, she would glace to her right and watch Ali pretending to read the files she had given her, but her eyes weren’t moving. She could also hear the gears turning in her head and knew the woman was anything but focused. “Got any questions on those files?” she asked nonchalantly.

Her question pulled Ali from her thoughts and she frantically searched for a question. “Oh…um…nothing yet.” Her reply was short as she turned her eyes back to the pages to try to take something in. 

Ashlyn just laughed to herself and cast a sideways glance at her partner. “You’ve been reading those for twenty minutes and have no questions?”

“I guess I’m just a quick learner,” Ali challenged. She was unappreciative of Ash’s accusing tone.

“Right,” Ash replied as she turned her attention back to the road in front of her. “Well let me know if you have any because I don’t want to go out there with a partner who has no clue what’s going on.”

“Oh so I’m your partner now?” Ali confronted her.

“You’re in my car aren’t you?” Her response was annoyed and she gritted her teeth to refrain from saying anything worse. 

“It’s our car,” she argued before turning her gaze back to the files. “And like I told you before I am more than capable of taking care of myself out there.”

“Whatever you say sweetheart,” Ash sarcastically chided as she cast a glimpse at her partner whose lips were parsed.

Ali’s eyes went wide in anger at her words and she slammed the file shut. “Excuse me? Did you really just call me sweetheart?”

Ash knew it wasn’t the right thing to say, but there was no going back now. She decided to try and play it off. “Yeah, is there a problem?”

“Wow. You’re really something, Harris. You know that? Jesus I expect that from the guys, but from you? Really?” She sat back in her chair and bit her cheek to keep from spewing out anymore venom. “I guess you really aren’t the Detective I thought you were,” she hummed quietly to herself. 

The words were meant to be kept to herself, but Ashlyn heard them. She heard them loud and clear and cut deep to her core.


	4. Night Out With The Boys

“Hey, Harris! Over here!” Ash looks up as she enters the bar and sees a few of her fellow Detective’s waving her over.

She smiled and squeezed her way through the crowd towards them. After a long week with her new partner she definitely needed a night out with the boys. To say their partnership was filled with tension was an extreme understatement. It was so bad, that Ash was thinking about heading back to traffic just so she never had to see or hear from Officer Krieger ever again. As she made her way over to them, she shook the worries from the week out of her head. She was intent on enjoying a night out and was hoping the alcohol would help wash any remaining worries away.

“Hey boys!” she yelled with a dimpled grin when she finally reached the area of the bar where they were all huddled. “How’s it going, Rodgers?” she asked with a playful punch in the arm. “I heard you guys got pretty close to nailing that big coke guy.”

“Ah no talking about work here, Harris,” interjected another man who wrapped his arms around her tightly. “It’s good to see you here,” he said with a warm smile when he pulled back. 

“Yeah it’s good to see you out, Ash,” added another man to her right.

“Well I’m glad to be out Brody,” she said with a laugh. And the truth was, she was glad. It was the first time she had been out with everyone since Walker died and it was comforting to be surrounded by her favorite guys again.

“So what’re you drinking?” asked Brody as he called over the bartender.

“Eh I’ll take a beer. Surprise me,” she added with a shrug before wrapping up Detective Velasquez in a big hug. “How are you buddy?” she said happily. “How’s that hot Latina wife of yours?” she teased which sent all of the men reeling.

“That hot wife of mine is knocked up, Harris!” he supplied with a happy grin.

“No way!” Ash exclaimed while she accepted the beer Brody was handing her and clinked her bottle to his. “Congrats man!” She gave him another hug and then took a big swig of my drink. “By the way, has she asked about me at all?” she said and wagged her eyebrows with a teasing grin.

The guys around her all burst out laughing and razzed Velasquez some more before the conversation turned in another direction. Velasquez just shook his head and gave Ash a playful punch on the arm.

Ash smiled, glad that she had been accepted back into the group so easily. These guys knew her inside and out and she did feel bad that she had abandoned them for a few months. While they tried to be there and comfort her after the incident, she had shut everyone out. She was great at shutting everyone out. Now the key was trying to let them all back in. This was the first step and she sighed happily as she finished off her drink and watched them all banter back and forth, teasing and joking with one another. 

Someone calling her name broke her from her happy stupor. “So, Harris, got any ladies coming around lately?”

Ash shot a stiff look at where the question came from. “Nope. I don’t Rodgers,” she replied as she fiddled with the label on her second beer of the night and dug her toe into the ground.

“What happened to that Jenna girl?” asked Velasquez innocently. “She was a firecracker dude!”

Ash let out a small, uncomfortable chuckle as she dipped her eyes and shook her head. “Eh she’s long gone,” was all she supplied.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough for them. “What happened?” asked Brody as he shifted on his barstool.

The last thing Ash wanted to do was rehash the old memories, but she knew they wouldn’t give it up. They were cops and the curious nature caused them to never get up. She knew one way or another they would get it out of her. “She uh...she couldn’t really handle it after Walker died. I was a mess and it didn’t take her long to pack up and leave.” She swallowed hard, forcing the knot in her throat back down.

“Aw, Ash I’m sorry,” said Rodgers as he squeezed her arm in an attempt at comfort. It wasn’t much, but it was all he knew how to do. 

“Yeah I mean if she couldn’t handle that and stick by your side, then she doesn’t deserve you.”

“Brody’s right, Harris,” said Velasquez as he raised his drink to his lips. “That chick doesn’t deserve the time of day from you,” he supplied before polishing off his drink.

“Thanks guys,” she mumbled, upset at how the night had taken a more somber tone. It meant a lot that they were trying to comfort her, but the topic had stirred up a lot of memories. She needed to force them out of her mind again so she lifted her head and met their waiting glances. “Who wants to do some shots?”

They all smiled brightly and turned back to the bar.

“Six shots of tequila!” called Brody as the bartender shook her head.

“Are you boys driving home tonight?” she questioned as she hovered the tequila bottle over the shot glasses before pouring.

“No ma’am,” Ashlyn replied as she stepped up to the bar. “I’m calling a taxi for these bozos and I live a block away.”

The bartender smiled back at them and quickly poured the shots, filling them up to the brim. “This round is on the house,” she said sweetly as she slid them over to them.

“Thanks, Brenda!” grinned Brody as she made her way back down the bar to the other waiting customers.

They clinked their glasses together and kicked back both shots one after the other. Ash relished the burn as it ran down her throat and filled her stomach with warmth. The night was young and she was fairly confident that after a few more drinks, she wouldn’t have a worry in the world. She ordered another beer and leaned back, with her arms resting lightly on top of the bar behind her. She took in the regular Friday night crowd, some of which she had seen before and some of which she hadn’t. Everyone around her seemed to be laughing and having a good time and she was enjoying the banter with her old buddies. 

“Damnnn check that out,” said Brody as he took another sip of his drink. “Check out those new Officer’s that just walked in. That chick on the right is so hot. Am I right, Harris?” He playfully nudged her with her elbow.

Ashlyn looked out to see what he was talking about, but couldn’t figure it out. Not until she followed his finger did she realize what he was getting at.

“Come on, Harris, you’ve got to admit she’s smoking.”

Ash groaned and shook her head. “Her name is Ali.”

“How do you know that?” Brody replied.

“She’s…she’s my new partner, Brody.”

“What!” Rodger’s was listening to the conversation and finally chimed in. “Harris you’ve got to hook me up!” he said with a pleading look in his eyes.

“Hey I saw her first!” teased Brody as he checked out the woman from across the bar.

“I’m not hooking her up with either of you two assholes,” she chuckled. “Besides, I doubt she would listen to anything I said anyways.” Her voice trailed off at the end as she nonchalantly took a swig of her beer.

“And why’s that?” asked Brody curiously. He noted the change in Ash’s demeanor and could sense something was up.

“Oh nothing. We just don’t exactly get along,” she said plainly. “She’s got a bad attitude and is pretty full of herself. Pretty sure that chick hates me.”

“I don’t think it’s possible for anyone to hate you, Harris,” joked Brody. “Besides the assholes you tackle to the ground and put in jail for the rest of their lives.”

Ashlyn couldn’t contain the laugh that erupted from her at Brody’s teasing. He was right, she had never had a problem getting along with someone from the Department before. What made this girl so different? She shrugged it off before turning back to Brody and Rodgers to tease them right back. “Pretty sure you guys got competition,” she said and nodded out to the dance floor.

Ali had just walked into the bar no more than five minutes ago and there were already men swarming all around her. Ash chuckled as her two friends slumped their shoulders and turned back to the bar when they saw a rookie cop come up behind Ali and start dancing with her. Ashlyn however, didn’t tear her eyes away like her dejected friends did. She watched her intently and studied her features, intrigued to see her outside of work. She was wearing dark blue skinny jeans with heels that made her calves pop even more. Ashlyn couldn’t help but trace the perfect outline of her legs with her gaze, before settling on the tight blouse that clung to her in all the right places. Her hair was down for once and hung over her shoulders in a messy wave of perfection. It was also the first time she had seen her with more than just light makeup on and she couldn’t help but stare at her lips which were painted with a flattering color of lipstick. What captured her attention most though, was the smile that was plastered across Ali’s face. It seemed so genuine and pure, like she was absolutely carefree and had no worry in the world. As the man moved his hands down lower and rested them on her hips, she could see her nose crinkle in a grin that made Ash’s heart skip a beat. Although she wasn’t blind and could obviously see how pretty Ali was throughout their week of working together, this was something else completely. Seeing her dancing and purely happy like that made her all the more beautiful. Still, it made her think that it was hard to believe someone who seemed so beautiful and pure, could really be so disrespectful and unpleasant. 

“Looks like someone agrees with us,” said a hot voice in her ear. Ash turned her head to the side to see Brody and Rodgers staring back at her with a shit eating grin. 

“What the hell are you guys talking about?” she shot back, annoyed.

“You haven’t taken her eyes off of her since she walked in!” teased Brody as she poked her side.

“Admit it, Harris. You got a crush on your partner!” Rodgers added.

“Cool it guys. That couldn’t be farther from the truth. I’m just wondering how she can look that happy while that guy is groping all over her,” she added with a shrug.

“You call that groping, Ash?” Velasquez had just come back from the bathroom and joined in the conversation. “That looks like innocent, friendly dancing to me,” he said with a shrug.

Rodgers and Brody nodded their heads in agreement. “But hey, for someone who’s got a crush on their partner, there’s no shame in being jealous.”

“Fuck you guys,” Ash laughed. “For the last time, I do not have a crush on Ali Krieger. The woman is so full of herself and I can’t stand her!”

“Mhmmm,” the three men hummed before they turned back to scope the crowd.

Ash sighed and looked back out at Ali one more time. This time she got caught and Ali held her gaze for a moment. As she did, a bitter look fell across her face. Ash quickly diverted her eyes when she saw Ali start to make her way over to her through the crowd.

Ali finally had enough liquid courage in her to hash it out with Ashlyn. She was tired of the fighting and the constant attempts to one up each other and just wanted to settle everything once and for all. The courage to do that lacked when she was sober and after catching her staring with her jaw slightly dropped, she figured she finally had her right where she wanted. She was going to end the feud once and for all.

Ash gulped and quickly looked around for an exit. The last thing Ash wanted to do was have a drunken conversation with her partner. It was one thing for her to hold her tongue when she was sober, but she didn’t think she would have the resolve when she was drunk. She quickly turned to the three men she was with and gave them all a quick hug. “I’m not feeling too great so I’m going to head home, guys!” She ignored the sad, confused looks on their faces and continued. “It was great seeing you all and I’m definitely looking forward to doing it again next Friday!”

At the mention of her joining them again next week, their faces picked up a bit. Before they could respond though, she had slipped past them and out the back door. They shrugged and thought nothing of it, until they saw a familiar face pop out through the crowd.

“Have you guys seen Detective Harris?”


	5. Relationships?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got two chapters out today! Yay! lol

“So did you have fun Friday night?”

The question seemed innocuous enough, but Ash knew there were deeper intentions behind it. It was the Monday after she had run away from Ali at the bar and she had hoped she wouldn’t bring it up. She kept her eyes forward on the house in front of them that they were staking out and shrugged. “Yeah it was nice catching up with the guys.” She wanted to provide enough for Ali to drop it, but not too much that would leave the door open for more questions.

“Hmm.” She mulled it over for a minute and looked out of the window, unsure of whether she should continue. She felt bold so she decided to push her some more. “Why’d you leave so early?” she questioned and pulled her eyes from the window to cast a glance in Ash’s direction. Her curiosity as to why Ash bolted after seeing her out was driving her to press more than she normally would.

Ash flinched when she heard the probing question that she had hoped to avoid. She hoped Ali didn’t notice, but she had. “Um…I don’t know. I just wasn’t feeling too great. I forgot how hard those guys go on Friday night,” she added with a chuckle and hoped it would be a good enough answer.

“Oh okay,” said Ali plainly, but Ash could see in her eyes that she was thinking of something else.

She tried to throw her off her game a bit. “I didn’t think you even noticed me. You seemed to be having a pretty good time yourself with Hardy,” she said with an accusatory tone. Ash shot her a pointed look and waited for Ali to go on the defensive.

“Oh so you were watching me?” she said with a raised eyebrow.

Not the answer Ash was expecting. Damn. This girl is quick on her feet. “I…I…no I just,” she stumbled over her words and internally cursed herself for losing her cool. She never lost her nerve like that. “Rodgers and Brody pointed you out and asked who you were so I looked at who they were pointing too and told them.” She tried to play it off with another shrug, but caught the slight smile that snuck up on the corner of Ali’s mouth.

“Oh I see. Well anyways, Hardy’s just an old friend. We went through the Academy together.”

Ash didn’t know why she was trying so hard to play it off, but she didn’t really care. “I don’t care who you’re sleeping with Krieger as long as it doesn’t affect you at work,” she said bluntly, void of emotion. The truth was that she really didn’t want to hear about the guys that were all over her all the time. They were partners and that was it. She had no desire to know anything about Ali outside of work or share anything about herself either.

Ali’s face recoiled at the statement. “I am NOT sleeping with him thank you very much,” she huffed angrily.

“I said I don’t care,” Ash supplied shortly and with a sense of finality to warn Ali to drop the conversation.

With a loud sigh Ali sat back in her seat and crossed her arms before turning her attention back out the window. “They should have been here by now. You think someone tipped them off?”

As glad as Ash was to change the subject, she was also irritated that they had just wasted all day staking out a drop that never happened. “Yeah they were supposed to be here two hours ago,” she sighed. “Might as well call it a day. Let’s get something to eat. I’m starving.”

Ali just nodded and stuffed her binoculars back into the glove compartment. “Burgers sound good to you?” she asked cautiously.

Ash surprised her by nodding and grinning. “A burger sounds delicious,” she agreed. At least that was one good thing Ali had going for her, she usually liked the same food as Ash. “Let’s swing by Moody’s and grab something.”

Twenty minutes later they were posted up in a booth at the local burger joint. They had both ordered milkshakes and burgers and were waiting on their food. Silence had fallen over them, but this time it wasn’t quite as uncomfortable as before. Ash was just about to speak up when she felt a warm hand on her shoulder.

“Officer Harris, it’s nice to see you again.”

She turned around and looked at the woman behind her who was still resting her hand on her shoulder. “Oh hey. Alex, right?” she asked the woman, remembering her as the one she had pulled over for speeding the previous week.

The brunette grinned widely and nodded, ecstatic that she remembered her name. “I’m glad I got to see you again,” she said with a smile and gentle squeeze of Ash’s arm.

“Oh yeah?” said Ash as she let her eyes wander the woman’s body a bit. She had seen her in the car last time and although her face was gorgeous, she also had quite the body to go with it.

Ali sat back and watched the two interact with an amused grin, noting how smooth Ashlyn seemed around the woman who was shamelessly flirting with her. Then again, they were both flirting and she saw how Ashlyn’s eyes were raking over the woman’s body, from her tight fitting blouse -which probably could use another top button - to her pencil skirt.

“Yeah I kept speeding by that same spot every morning, but you haven’t been there.” She teased and pretended to pout at which Ash chuckled softly.

“I’m off traffic now so you won’t see me there anymore,” she informed the woman with a dimpled grin. “My partner and I are on the narcotics unit now.”

The woman cast a glance at Ali who was annoyed that it took Ash so long to bring her into the conversation. She gave Ali a fake smile before turning back to Ashlyn. “Well I don’t do drugs, so I guess if you want to see me again, it’s going to have to be at dinner when you take me out,” she said with a wink and quickly scribbled her number on Ashlyn’s napkin with a pen she plucked from Ashlyn’s front pocket. She bit the end of it and looked down at Ash coyly while batting her eyelashes. “I’ve got to get back to work, but hopefully I’ll see you later,” she said as she rubbed her hand down Ashlyn’s arm with a sultry grin. “Later Officer Harris.”

She turned to walk away and as Ali watched Ashlyn’s eyes drop down to her swaying hips, she couldn’t help herself. “It’s Detective Harris,” she said harshly and much louder than she intended.

When Ashlyn whipped around and shot her a glare she realized just how loud she had said it. Luckily, if Alex had heard it she chose to ignore them as she made her way out of the restaurant.

“What the hell was that, Krieger?” said Ash through her gritted teeth and narrowed eyes.

“Oh please,” scoffed Ali. “Please tell me that you’re not actually going to call that woman,” she added with an eye roll.

“Um is there a reason I shouldn’t? She’s gorgeous, has a smoking body and has expensive taste so she obviously wouldn’t want a long term commitment with a cop. Sounds like the perfect woman to call,” she said pointedly.

Ali had to shake her heard at the comment. “Wow. You really are a piece of work, Harris. Although I guess I should have known you were the player type.”

The words that Ali spoke stunned Ash. This woman had no idea what she was even talking about. “You know nothing about me,” Ash grumbled as the waitress brought their food over. “So shut your mouth.”

“I obviously know enough,” said Ali with a shrug, ignoring Ashlyn's warning before she shoved a wad of french fries in her mouth. “You actually entertaining the idea of calling that type of woman is information enough to know you’re not the relationship type.”

“I’m not a player,” Ash replied hotly before taking a few bites of her burger. She thought the conversation was over when they silently ate their food for a few more minutes, but Ali couldn’t let it go.

“Like you said before, I don’t care who you’re sleeping with. Just don’t let it affect your work,” Ali mocked her.

Ash was taking a sip of her water when Ali said it and she quickly slammed her glass down, loudly on the table. “YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT ME!” she said. It wasn’t quite a yell, but it was enough to catch some people’s attention around them. Ash dropped her eyes to the table and paused for a moment to wait for them to turn back to their own business.

“Seems like you’re trying to convince yourself more than me.”

Ali was taunting Ash and as much as she wanted to let it go, she hated that Ali thought she was this awful person. It was time to turn the tables and make her eat her words. “I had a girlfriend for three years. We lived together and I was going to propose to her, but she left me when Walker died. I lost myself a bit and she couldn’t handle it and she just left me. Threw three years down the drain and left me with absolutely nothing. So excuse me if I’m not trying to skip happily into a new relationship. Sorry that I’m not exactly jumping at the change to hand over my heart to yet another woman who will throw it away like it’s nothing and leave me completely broken.” She pushed her plate away and slammed a twenty dollar bill on the table. “Lunch is on me. I’ll be in the car waiting,” she said angrily before turning to storm out of the restaurant.


	6. Action

Ali could tell that Ash was still fuming when she finally made her way out of the restaurant and slipped into the passenger side of the car. She felt awful and was racking her brain for the right thing to say. As much as she despised Ashlyn and thought she was full of herself, she hadn’t meant to make her so upset. “I’m sorry,” she mumbled while putting on her seatbelt.

“It’s fine. For someone who doesn’t like being judged, you sure do a lot of it though,” she replied shortly without meeting Ali’s gaze. She was still pissed off and rightfully so. For a month she had tried to push all the bad memories away, but Ali had brought them all back up. Ash didn’t know who this girl thought she was, but she was getting fed up with it all real fast.

Ali was about to speak, when a call came over the radio.

“Looks like they spotted Oscar on 74th street liquor store. We’ve been following him for months so let’s go see what he’s up to.”

Her voice was void of emotion, but Ali could tell from her tensed jaw that she was holding her feelings in. They were about to head into a potentially dangerous situation and Ali was going to try to clear the air. She opened her mouth to speak again when Ash simultaneously leaned forward and cranked the music up. With a sigh Ali sank back into her seat and hoped the ride wouldn’t be too long. They hadn’t seen much action and mostly had been doing surveillance. She was excited to finally get her hands dirty, so to speak. 

Ten minutes later they parked on the street facing the liquor store. “There’s his car,” said Ash as she pointed to the Black Escalade that was parked in the handicap spot right in front of the store.

“What’s the plan?” Ali asked quietly. She had her own idea, but knew Ash was the Detective and she needed to defer to her for the time being.

“Well he blew off the meet earlier today so he must have been tipped off. Let’s just wait and see what happens when he comes out,” replied Ash as she turned the car off and got comfortable in her seat.

No more than five minutes later, Oscar came out with a case of beer. He threw it into the back seat of the SUV before hopping in the driver’s seat. Ash and Ali watched intently as they saw two men conversing in the car.

“What do you think they’re saying?” Ali asked curiously.

Ash shot her an annoyed grin, “I can hear them just as well as you can,” she said sarcastically. She was still extremely pissed at Ali and dumb, speculative questions weren’t going to improve her mood at all. Nor was the fact that they were clearly going to be working overtime on this case if something didn’t happen soon with Oscar and that meant being stuck in the car with Ali for who knows how long.

Ali just rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to the parking lot where the men were parked. She knew something was up since they hadn’t left the parking lot yet and kept her eyes peeled on the surrounding area. When she saw a suspicious man cross the street and head towards the parking lot she brought it up. “Look there,” said Ali, as she pointed to the man whose pants were sagging well below his waist. “Something’s not right with him.”

Ash looked closer and noticed Ali was right. As he bent over to fix his shoelace, Ash could make out a gun tucked in his waistband. He stood and continued on his way towards the Escalade. “He’s packing,” said Ash as she felt her heart rate speed up a bit. “Let’s see how this plays out, but be ready to move. This could be the drop,” she added when she saw the rather large backpack the man was wearing. “Something tells me that backpack isn’t loaded with textbooks.”

Ali nodded and unbuckled her seatbelt, ready to go if something happened. “Should we call backup?” Ali didn’t have a good feeling about this and had always been told to trust your gut.

She shook her head. “Just wait,” she said in an agitated tone. “We don’t need a bunch of cops swarming in before anything even happens.” She really is a rookie, thought Ash as she slipped her hand down to the car handle, ready to bolt if needed.

They watched the man walk up to the Escalade on the passenger side. He gave Oscar daps and the two seemed friendly while they chatted for a few minutes. The man pointed to the back and they saw Oscar nod and turn around to grab something. Just then, shots rang out. Oscar slumped over in the front seat as the man grabbed a bag from the back seat and took off running in the other direction.

“Move!” yelled Ash as she took off after the gunman. “Check on Oscar and the passenger and I’ll go bag this guy!”

Ali nodded and quickly sprinted across the street, gun drawn. She knew they should have stuck together since there was no backup around, but needed to check on the other men. She quickly, but cautiously looked into the window of the Escalade and shook her head. Both dead. She mumbled something into her shoulder radio about backup and an ambulance and then looked around for Ashlyn. She caught her just as she was hopping over a fence chasing the suspect. Knowing there was nothing she could do for the two men in the car, she decided to go give her partner some backup. As much as she hated her, they were partners and would protect each other at all costs.

After hopping the fence, her face dropped. She saw Ash and the man struggling on the ground. He was on top of her and seemed to be getting the best of her. She took in the scene for a second when she saw something flash through the air. “He’s got a gun, Harris!” She didn’t know what came over her, but as Ash struggled to turn the gun away from her, Ali sprinted and hurled herself at the man knocking him to the ground as a gunshot rang out.

They struggled and he quickly landed a swift kick to her ribs and she could feel the wind get knocked out of her, but knew she couldn’t give up. She was unsure where the gun was or where Ashlyn was and quickly rolled over to survey the scene. The man was on his knees a foot away and went to lunge at her. Ali recoiled her leg and kicked out. The crack that filled the air, followed by a gurgled scream let her know that she had connected, soundly. The man crumpled to the ground as was quickly pounced on by Detective Harris who eagerly slapped the cuffs on him, making sure to make them extra tight. The punk had just tried to kill her after all.

The two woman lifted their eyes at the same time and their gazes met. Ash had a slight cut above her eye and her hair was a mess, but from what Ali could tell she hadn’t been shot. Ali on the other hand was struggling to catch her breath after taking a boot to the ribs, and had a bump above her eyes from a strike he hand landed. As they held the gaze, Ali thought she could see something in Ash’s for the first time. She thought maybe just maybe the hatred had dissipated a bit to be replaced with something else. Gratitude? Admiration? Trust? She didn’t know what it was, but didn’t want to screw it up by saying something. They sat there in silence for a few minutes as they waited for backup, neither of them knowing what to say. They both knew that Ali had just saved Ash’s life, but what they didn’t know was how to address the tension that hung heavily over them. The only noise that broke through their silence was the screams of the man who was bleeding from the nose.

“Over here!” came a voice from behind them.

They both whipped around to find their backup spilling into the area. Ashlyn saw a few familiar faces that she hadn’t seen in a while and smiled.

“Harris, glad you’re safe!”

“Yeah me too, Jimbo,” she said with a laugh.

Jimbo, an old friend of Ashlyn’s looked over at Ali with a smile. “Nice to meet you. I’m Detective Hill, but everyone calls my Jimbo.”

Ali smiled and firmly shook his hand. “Officer Krieger,” she said politely with a smile.

“So how’d you get lucky enough to score the best partner in the department? Our little Ash is the best of the best,” he said sincerely, his eyes lighting up a bit to prove his sincerity even more.

Ali had to contain the laugh that almost erupted from her at his comment. The best in the department? Right. She forced a smile and nodded. “Oh yeah. Pleasure to work with,” she mumbled, still trying to contain her laughter.

Jimbo wasn’t paying attention to her anymore though. He turned around to look Ash over. “That’s a pretty rough cut you got there, Harris. You get that taking this guy out? I bet he wished he never met you. He looks much worse off,” he chuckled as he lugged the man up to his feet with the help of another Officer and looked at his bleeding face.

“That was all, Ali,” Ash said meekly. As much as she hated to admit it, she was never one to steal credit.

“Well then maybe you’re the lucky one with her as your partner,” Jimbo chuckled as he lightly elbowed her in the ribs.

When they were all back at the car, they filled everyone in on what happened and the paramedics checked the two girls out. When the EMT lifted Ali’s shirt to check her ribs, Ash sucked in a deep breath. She wasn’t sure if it was her finely toned stomach or the fact that there was a huge, black bruise on her ribs though. She quickly averted her eyes, not wanting to be caught staring.

She felt a rough hand drop on her shoulder again when she stopped by the ambulance. “So Krieger you saved Ash here’s life I heard?”

“Can it Morgan,” Ash retorted. As grateful as she was for what Ali did for her, that was the last thing she needed to get around the department.

“I’m just teasing, Harris,” said the man with a light laugh. “Geeze did you even thank her yet? Imagine what Jenna would say if she saw this pretty face of yours all busted up.”

Ash winced. She hadn’t seen Morgan for a while and he obviously hadn’t heard about what Jenna did to her. The thoughts that resurfaced from the restaurant earlier in the day quickly replaced the gratitude she had for Ali. No, her memory had quickly diverted back to the hurtful things she had said earlier and the flashbacks they had triggered.

“Geeze did you even thank her yet, Harris?” he teased.

“Thanks,” Ashlyn mumbled without even making eye contact.

Ali was fuming at the moment. After risking her life for her, which she would always do as her partner no matter their relationship, all Detective Harris could do was mumble a thanks without any eye contact.

Morgan sensed the tension and quickly turned and walked away. He wasn’t sure what he had walked into, but was smart enough to know he didn’t want to get involved in whatever issue the women were having. No, he got enough of that at home with a wife and three daughters.

“Really?” Ali scowled when the EMT’s headed back to the front to head out.

“What?” said Ashlyn through narrowed eyes.

“Thanks? That’s it?” She was never one to need validation or approval, but the complete lack thereof from her partner was absolutely infuriating her.

Did this woman want her to drop to her knees and kiss her feet? Ashlyn rolled her eyes. “Yes. Thank you. What the hell else do you want?” Ash stood up from the back of the ambulance and pushed past Ali to head back to her group of fellow Officers. “Thanks for doing your job, but this doesn’t change anything.”


	7. Nothing Personal

“Don’t take it personally.”

Ali heard the unfamiliar voice behind her and quickly whipped around, wincing at the pain that radiated through her ribs. She saw a man in uniform that looked familiar standing there shaking his head. He was muscular and definitely filled out his uniform in all the right places. Not to mention his steely blue eyes and chiseled jaw line. She quickly regained her composure and shot him a confused look. “Um…what?”

“Names Brody,” he said as she shook Ali’s hand firmly. “I went through the Academy with that gem over there.”

Ali followed his finger and saw he was pointing at Detective Harris who was laughing and joking with another group of officers. “Oh,” was all she said in reply. The last thing she wanted to hear was someone else tell her how lucky she was to have her as a partner. She was getting quite sick of it actually.

“I know you two have had a rough start, but don’t take it personally, Krieger.” He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and she felt the warmth in his touch. It was comforting. A comfort she hadn’t felt in a while.

“Are you kidding me? That woman hates me,” Ali chuckled and shook her head. She usually wasn’t one to gossip or really open up but she was comforted by the gentle look in Brody’s eyes.

“No she doesn’t. She just hates the idea of you,” he said with a shrug and slid his hand off Ali’s shoulder and let it drop to his side.

“What’s that even supposed to mean?” she questioned in a perturbed tone and rolled her eyes for him to see.

“After what happened to Walker…she just…she doesn’t want another partner,” he sighed and thought back to the events that surrounded Walker’s death. He had been Walker’s friend too and losing Walker and seeing Ash fall apart had been a rough time for him as well.

“Why not? I’m not trying to replace him. That’s not my intent at all. I’m just here doing my job.” She was getting annoyed now and hated how everyone defended her. “I wish she could be professional and do the same.”

“She doesn’t think she deserves another one.” Brody’s voice trailed off signaling that there was so much more behind the simple words he spoke.

“Deserve what?” Now Ali was intrigued. She shot a glance back over at a laughing Ashlyn and judged that she was doing just fine.

“A partner. She has this crazy idea that she should have saved Walker, that it’s all her fault. There was no way she could, but she won’t listen to anyone. She blames herself for everything. They were best friends and did everything together. You never got one without the other,” he remembered with a chuckle, but also with a glint of sadness in his eyes. “Those two were inseparable ever since they entered the Academy and she blames herself.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, what happened?” Ali knew she was walking a thin line and touchy subject, but wanted someone to give her some idea of why Ash was shutting her out. She had tried everything during the past few weeks, but only felt like she was digging herself a deeper and deeper hole.

He took a deep breath and sighed, thinking it wasn’t his place to tell. It was Ashlyn’s story to tell, but he knew that if he didn’t tell her, Ash never would. With a loud sigh he dropped his eyes to the ground and began his account of what happened. “Drug bust gone bad. It was an ambush. They…they really had no chance from the start. They took out a few of the guys before Ash took a ricochet bullet through the arm. It didn’t do any damage and was just a surface wound, but it took Walker’s attention away for a split second. He was in good cover, but turned to her and saw she was down and that someone was approaching her, gun raised. She shook her head no to tell him to stay back until cover came in, but there was no way he would leave her there. That was his best friend in the entire world and Walker was as selfless as they came. He came out guns blazing and took a few more out before…” he dug his toe into the gravel as he tried to choke back the knot that was forming in his throat. “…before they got him. She can’t forgive herself, Krieger. Just know it’s not personal. She’s the best woman and Detective I know and I think in time you’ll see the side of her that we all have.” He raised his eyes and looked deep into hers. “Be patient with her, okay? She’ll come around eventually.”

Ali nodded as she let everything Brody said wash over her. She could sense the sincerity in his eyes as he told the story and could also sense that it was a difficult subject for him as well. He was Ash’s friend and knew her better than most on the force and it was all she could do to trust his instincts on how she operated. “Okay. Thanks for filling me in.” She smiled and nudged his shoulder gently with hers and gave him a soft smile. “I promise I’ll watch her six for you.” She didn’t know what brought her to say that, but she didn’t want this man to lose another friend. She could tell that Walker’s death had been draining on him as well.

“You did more than that today. Great work out there,” he added sincerely.

Ali smiled even bigger. At least someone was recognizing her actions that day. “Thanks.”

Brody got lost in her smile for a moment and couldn’t help but return it. “Hey we’re all going out to the bar tomorrow for a few drinks. You should join.”

Ali looked him over skeptically. She couldn’t tell if there was more intentions behind his question.

Sensing her hesitation, he quickly added with a shrug, “You know because it’ll be good for you and Harris to hang outside of work.”

Ali sighed. As much as she wanted to go home and binge watch Netflix, she knew it wasn’t a bad suggestion. Maybe she could break down Ash’s walls. Maybe. “Alright. What time?”

Brody’s face lit up when she unexpectedly agreed. “Oh…um. 8pm.” He regained his confidence quickly and added, “See you there Krieger.” He gave her another smile before getting up and strolling over to where the larger group of officers had gathered.

She stood there silently by herself for a few moments, arms crossed across her body, and surveyed the interactions taking place before her. She had seen from the start that everyone was drawn to Detective Harris and that she fit in just as well as any of the ‘guys’. She saw how Ash’s face was glowing as she joked with them and the dimpled grin she was flashing almost made Ali melt. Though she had seen it a limited number of times because that would mean Ash would actually have had to smile around her, she found it gave her a similar warm feeling every time.

Everyone was laughing and joking, some even doubled over laughing, and Ash was behind it all as she told, what Ali assumed, must have been a hilarious story judging by the noise level of everyone’s laughs and their faces. They all loved her and Ali had yet to meet someone that had something negative to say about her. Watching the scene before her she finally realized something, maybe Detective Harris wasn’t so bad after all. Maybe Brody was right and she was just dealing with some internal issues, rightfully so. After all, a whole Police force of people trained to detect bullshit and sniff out bad people couldn’t be wrong about her. Could they?


	8. Little Badass

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the comments! Glad you guys like the story so far. Sorry it's starting off slow, but I promise we're getting somewhere soon :)

A few days later, after the tension had grown even stronger between the women, Ash pulled the car to a stop outside of a dilapidated house. They sat there for a moment surveying the scene in front of them. Ali studied the unfamiliar house to their right, while Ash studied Ali. She was angry at the way Ali and Brody had been flirting so blatantly in front of her the other day by the ambulance. She knew it wasn’t her place, but it still bothered her. She had a talk with Brody the next day, but he denied anything, not wanting to let on what they were really talking about. So since Brody wouldn’t tell her, she decided to take her anger out on Ali even more. Their relationship was tense even though Ali was desperately trying to connect with her on some level, any level.

Still, Ash couldn’t help but let her eyes take in all of Ali’s beauty. Ever since she had seen her getting treated by the EMT’s she couldn’t get the image of her toned abs out of her head. It didn’t help that she noticed she had a tattoo on her ribcage too, which Ash found incredibly hot. She kept wanting to ask what it was, but caught herself every time when she remembered the hurtful things she had said. The last thing she wanted Ali to think was that she was secretly checking her out. Truthfully, she had just wanted to see the extent of her injuries. At least that’s what she kept telling herself.

As Ali looked out the open window and surveyed the house in front of them, Ash couldn’t help but stare. Ali was absolutely beautiful, that was one thing she couldn’t deny. The woman had a smile that could kill, though Ash rarely saw it, and her soft brown eyes almost broke Ash’s resolve. Almost. A slight breeze made its way through the car, blowing some of Ali’s stray hairs. Ash almost reached out and tucked them back behind her ear. Almost.

“You think he’s in there?” questioned Ali. As she turned back towards Ash, she caught her staring and noticed that her mouth dropped open a bit. She stifled a laugh and just looked at her with a raised eyebrow waiting for an answer.

She quickly shook her head realizing that Ali had caught her staring. No matter how hot the woman was, she was still extremely unpleasant to be around and didn’t even bat for the same team. She pushed the thoughts from her head and tried to focus on the case they were working on. “Uh yeah. That’s his car over there,” she said and pointed to the beat up red car parked down the street. “He’s in there. Let’s go pay him a visit,” Ash said before getting out of the car and heading up the steps on the front porch.

She knocked a few times and waited for a response which came a minute later.

“Wow, Harris. Good to see you,” said the scrawny man that came to the door. His name was Otto and had often worked as Ash’s confidential informant before she had been reassigned to traffic for a bit. “They finally let your ass off traffic?” he chuckled before taking a swig of the beer he was holding.

Ash held back what she was really thinking. She despised working with Otto more than anything. He was slimy and conceited and had absolutely no respect for anyone or anything. The only reason she kept him around was because he provided her with critical information. Still, she couldn’t wait for the day he slipped up or outlasted his usefulness so she could put him in the slammer where he really belonged. “Can it, Otto,” she said angrily. “I’m here on business,” she said firmly as she pulled her Aviators off and tucked them into her front shirt pocket.

“Well how can I get down to business when you haven’t introduced me to that sexy thing over there,” he pointed to Ali with a sneer as his eyes raked up and down her body. “She’s quite a looker, Harris!”

Ali shifted uncomfortably on her feet. This wasn’t the first man who had looked at her like that, but the sinister look in his eyes made her stomach churn a bit.

“It’s Detective Harris to you and that’s my new partner Officer Krieger. That’s besides the point though. I’m here about Oscar. Who put that hit out on him?”

“Aw come on, Harris. I can’t get down to business without having a little fun yet. Come here, sweetheart,” he said to Ali with a grin as he wiggled his finger for her to step closer. “Damn! Look at that fine ass, Harris!”

“Enough, Otto!” Ash said a bit louder than she intended. “Show my partner some respect.” She thought she had put an end to it, but she was wrong. Apparently Otto had had a few too many drinks and didn’t realize how thin a line he was walking.

“I am respecting her. I’m respecting her enough to try to show her a good time.” His words were slurred and he directed his attention back to Ali who was standing there with a straight face glaring back at him. “When you get off tonight you should swing by again baby. The things I would do to you…” His voice trailed off as his eyes trailed down her body again and his lips curled up into a perverted smile. He brushed past Ash and stepped out onto the porch towards Ali with a sneer.

“Get your hand off me,” said Ali sternly when he placed a hand lightly on her shoulder. Part of her shuddered at the touch and wanted him to remove his hand, but the other side of her wanted him to ignore the warning so she could give him what he deserved.

Ash was about to step into action when his hand started to slide down her arm, but she didn’t have a chance.

With one quick motion Ali had grabbed his wrist and twisted his arm behind his back. He let out a loud yelp and she had him face first against the front of the house in less than a second and was leaning all her body weight against his back to hold him there.

“Watch it bitch!” he grumbled through his lips which were pressed to the house. “I was just kidding!”

“Listen asshole. I warned you not to touch me and you didn’t listen. So you’re either going to tell us what you know about Oscar or I’m going to drag you down to the station and lock you up for sexually harassing an Officer. Your choice!” she said hotly as she pressed him harder into the house which elicited another yelp.

“Hey I was just trying to show you a good time. But it’s okay because I like ‘em feisty,” he sneered again, not wanting to let Ali get the best of him.

“You’d never have a chance with me,” she replied honestly. “I don’t like scrawny, pathetic men.”

Ash had to laugh at that, especially when she remembered Ali dancing with the muscular rookie from the bar and flirting with Brody. They were both far from scrawny, and she realized that Ali definitely had a type. “Yeah I think strong, hot cops are more her thing,” Ash chided with a small chuckle.

“Aw come on, baby. Don’t be like that. What you’re not into hot latino men?” he said with a laugh and disgustingly licked his lips.

Ali was fuming at this point ant it took everything in her to not grind his face harder into the house. “Hot Latinas are more my type,” she said nonchalantly as she slapped the cuffs on his wrists and tightened them. “I’ve had enough of this asshole. We’re taking him in, alright?”

She turned to find a stunned Ash just standing there with her jaw dropped. After a moment of no answer she asked again. “That alright with you, Harris?” Her tone was annoyed since Ash wasn’t responding and was probably just angry that she had cuffed her top CI.

Meanwhile a million things were flying through Ash’s mind. _Did Ali just admit she liked women? And did she really just look so hot while putting Otto in his place?_ She could see a few loose strands of Ali’s hair floating through the wind and noticed how her chest was rising and falling faster than normal after her encounter with Otto. She looked from Ali’s face to Otto who was cuffed and looking defeated. Maybe Ali Krieger was a little bit of a bad ass after all. It took her a moment to recover and she couldn’t find any words so she just nodded and followed Ali back to the car. On the way back she realized Otto got one thing right, she did have a nice ass.


	9. Let's Try This Again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the comments and suggestions! They're definitely helpful :) you guys are da besttt

Ali took a deep breath as she stood outside of the bar. She didn’t know what the cause of it was, but she couldn’t shake the nervous feeling that had settled in the pit of her stomach. With a final sigh, she pushed open the door and made her way inside the bustling bar. After looking around through the masses of people that were packed into the place, she caught Brody’s eye through the crowd. He waved and smiled as she made her way over.

“Fancy meeting you here,” he teased as he gave her a quick hug.

“You invited me here,” she replied with an eye roll.

“Oh right. In that case, what’re you drinking hun?”

Ali ignored the term of endearment, “Beer is fine with me.”

Brody turned and flagged the bartender over to order another round of drinks. When he turned back around with the beers in his hand his smile faltered a bit. Ali wasn’t paying attention to him and was moving her head side to side searching for someone through the crowd. “What are you looking for,” he said with a gentle nudge.

“Is Harris here?” she questioned, trying to contain her eagerness to see the blonde.

Brody snapped out of it and remembered what he told Ali about them getting to bond outside of work. “Oh she’s in the other room playing some darts with the other guys. Should be back in a minute,” he added with a smile and passed the bottle over to her.

Ali thanked him and took a sip. She didn’t want to seem desperate and go looking for Ashlyn, so she figured she could kill time with Brody until she came back.

Brody also breathed out a sigh of relief, glad that Ali hadn’t left yet to look for Ashlyn. She looked absolutely stunning in her tight jeans and flowy blouse and he wasn’t ready to take his eyes off her just yet. He clinked their glasses together before taking a sip of his new beer as well. “So Officer Krieger, why don’t you tell me a little about yourself?”

Ali politely smiled and met his gaze, pleased that at least someone felt like getting to know her. She leaned in closer because the music was so loud and began to fill him in on some of her back story. There were laughing and joking back and forth, while waiting for Ash to come back.

Little did they know that she was standing across the room watching them both. For a moment she felt a pang of jealously twang through her, but quickly shook the thought from her mind. She had nothing to be jealous about on any level. First, Brody wasn’t getting any because Ali had admitted she batted for the other team, and second, she had no claim on Ali nor would she ever. Still, she couldn’t help but admire the brunette from afar as she crossed her arms and leaned against the wall on the opposite side of the room.

“A hundred bucks says he takes her home tonight,” came a voice from behind her.

Ash turned around to see Velasquez grinning widely. She laughed and was just about to set him straight when a large grin swept across her face. “Make it two hundred and you’ve got yourself a deal,” she said and extended her hand.

Velasquez looked at her skeptically, but shook her hand nonetheless. “Deal.” He was off-put at first by her confidence, but remembered that Brody always got the girl. “You’ll be hitting up that ATM by the end of the night, Harris,” he said with a chuckle before making his way over to where Brody and Ali were engrossed in conversation.

“You two win?” said Brody as he saw Velasquez and Ash approaching.

“Is that even a serious question?” Ash replied confidently with a shrug.

“Someone’s cocky,” mumbled Ali as she took a sip of her beer.

Ash heard her, but decided not to say what she really wanted. She didn’t want to start anything in front of her friends. Besides, as much as she didn’t want to talk to Ali, she definitely did not mind looking at her. What she really wanted though, was to frazzle Ali and win that two hundred bucks. She leaned forward so that their faces were almost touching and whispered in her ear, “It’s not cocky if you can back it up. And I promise you, that I always back it up.”

Ali gulped and felt the shiver slide down her spine when Ash’s hot breath touched her ear. She quickly turned her face and chugged the rest of her drink to clear the fog in her head. “Who wants another beer?” she asked quickly as she turned her back to the group and flagged down the bartender.

Ash just pulled back and laughed while Brody shot her a glare which went unnoticed. Finally, she turned back to him. “So who invited my lovely partner tonight?” she asked, her voice ridden with sarcasm.

Brody cleared his throat and responded. “I did.” He stepped closer and lowered his voice so Ali wouldn’t overhear them. “You need to give her a chance, Ash. She’s not half bad and she’s not trying to replace Walker. We all know you miss him, but she didn’t have anything to do with that.”

“Don’t tell me what to do, Brody,” she said angrily.

“Alright. But I’m telling you if you gave her a chance you’d like her. She actually really looks up to you and was originally excited when she got assigned to be your partner. She even told me how she read all your old case files.”

At Brody’s words, Ash paused. Had Ali really thought that highly of her? She knew she had a good reputation on the force, but thought it was cute that Ali had even done research on her. She let out a chuckle, “Yeah okay, Brody. She hasn’t really been a pleasure to work with these last few weeks though.”

“Yeah well you haven’t either,” came a stark voice from behind her.

She turned and found Ali standing there with a few bottles of beer in her hands and narrowed eyes.

The guys all looked at each other before quickly grabbing their beers from Ali and making excuses to be somewhere else, anywhere else. As much as Brody wanted to stay and talk to Ali, he knew his friend needed this more and didn’t want to be there when the two woman hashed everything out.

Ash dropped her eyes to the floor, not wanting to meet her gaze. She knew it was coming. They were going to hash it out right then and it was going to go one of two ways.

“You didn’t even give me a chance,” Ali breathed out and when Ash leveled her eyes, she could see the disappointment in the brunette’s soft brown eyes.

“You didn’t either,” Ash replied hotly.

“After our first conversation, you really think I’m the reason we’re like this?” Ali was annoyed that her partner wasn’t taking any responsibility for how they ended up with such a damaged relationship.

“I seem to recall you weren’t exactly a ball of sunshine either.”

“Because I was upset and embarrassed!”

These words got Ash’s attention and she jerked her head up to meet Ali’s fiery red eyes.

“I was so excited to work with you. Everyone told me how great you were and I couldn’t wait. And then to hear those words come out of your mouth. You didn’t even know me and you were judging me. I know I haven’t been on the force long, but I’m a really good cop, Ash. You didn’t even give me a chance to show you!”

Ali looked like she was on the verge of crying and Ash felt a pang of guilt flash through her. She knew she hadn’t been fair to Ali and that she was taking her personal issues out on her. Aside from her comments about her being a player, Ali really hadn’t given her a reason to be angry. She tried to gather her thoughts to piece together a response. Usually she was calm and collected, but this girl had a different effect on her. “I…um…I…” she stuttered, still unsure of what to say.

Ali could sense she was struggling. “You could start with an I’m sorry…” she mumbled.

Ash looked up at her, thinking how cute her little mumble just sounded. “I’m sorry,” she said flatly, for the first time giving the brunette exactly what she wanted.

Ali’s eyes widened a bit, in shock that Ashlyn had actually listened to her. “Really?” Her voice did little to contain the shock she was feeling.

Ash set her beer down on the bar and leaned back against it, placing her arms out on either side of her. “Yes,” she sighed. She was able to regain her thoughts once she had put some distance between herself and the brunette. “It was never you. It was my own shit and I shouldn’t have taken it out on you. I’m sorry for that. You’re right. You didn’t stand a chance.”

Ali took a step closer, closing the large gap the Detective had created. Her face softened a bit as the next words came out. “I’m not here to replace Walker. I know I never will and I will never try. What two partners like that have is a special bond and I want you to know that was never my intention.”

Ash looked into Ali’s eyes and knew she was coming from a place of sincerity. “I know,” she breathed out. “I know.”

The blonde’s shoulders slumped a bit and Ali could tell that she was trying to convince herself that she was okay more than the other way around. Not knowing what else to do, she placed a hand on Ash’s arm, “It’s alright. We’re good now, okay?”

They could both feel the spark fly through them when they made contact and it caught them off guard. Ali quickly retracted her hand. That was one thing that would never happen.

“Okay,” said Ash as she regained some composure. “Let’s try this again.”

“Huh?” Ali said with a scrunched face when Ashlyn turned her back to her.

Ashlyn turned back around with a large smile on her face. “Oh hi. I hear you’re my new partner. I’m Detective Harris. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Ali’s own face was soon covered by her own large smile when she realized what Ashlyn was up to. _This girl is definitely smooth._ “Oh hello.” She extended her own hand to shake Ashlyn’s with her signature nose crinkling grin. “I’m Officer Krieger. I’ve heard so many great things about you and I cannot wait to start working with you.”

They both smiled goofily at each other and held their gaze when a throat cleared behind them. Realizing they were still holding hands they quickly dropped them and looked sheepishly back at each other.

“Seems like you two are getting along better,” said Brody as he walked up behind them and draped an arm around each woman’s shoulder.

“I guess you could say that,” Ash replied and gave Ali a silly, over-exaggerated wink.

Brody let his arm slip off of Ashlyn’s shoulder, but kept the other wrapped around Ali. “Here’s another drink,” he said and handed her the other bottle in his hand.

The three chatted for a few minutes before Brody decided to go for it. “So want to head outside and talk?” he asked with a charming smile.

Ali looked up and caught her partner’s knowing glare. She was not pleased that Brody was still putting the moves on her partner and if Ali was being honest with herself, she just wanted to spend time with Ashlyn now that they finally got along. “I…um…” she dropped her eyes to the ground unsure of how to reply. Finally she gained her confidence, “Um Ash was actually going to buy me a drink to make it up to me for being such an ass,” she replied cheekily and looked back to Ash.

Ash was no longer paying attention though. When Ali looked back up, she saw the very hot woman from the diner draped around her partner, her arms wrapped tightly around Ash's torso.

“Hey there Detective,” the woman purred into her ear, brushing her lips lights against her cheek. “You want to get out of here?”

A wide smile crossed Ashlyn’s face when she turned her face to the side and caught Alex's seductive stare. “How can I turn down such a beautiful woman?” she said confidently as she turned and wrapped her arm around the woman's thin waist.

“See you later guys!” she said with a smile and fist bumped the guys. Then her eyes fell on Ali who was looking up at her tentatively. “Later, partner,” she said with a wink that almost made Ali melt.

Ali fought back the lump that formed in her throat when Ashlyn turned and eagerly led the other woman out the front door of the bar.


	10. The Bet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy! Thanks again for all the comments! I enjoy the interactions with you all :)

Monday morning a very pissed off Velasquez stormed up to her desk and slammed two hundred dollars down on it. “It pains me,” he hissed grumpily, “but I always pay up on my bets.”

Ash started laughing as she sat back all the way in her chair, remembering the bet they had made Friday night. “Aw don’t be a sore loser, man,” she joked as she jokingly counted the money he set down.

Just then Ali wandered up to her desk. “Morning Velasquez,” she said sweetly. “What’s going on here?” She shot a look to the money, Ash’s large grin and Velasquez’s pissed off glare.

Ashlyn’s eyes went wide at the question when she saw his frown curl up into a smile. He was going to sell her out.

“Oh…uhhh nothing,” Ash replied, quickly sitting up straight and shooting a hard glare directly at Velasquez in an attempt to keep him quiet.

“Just paying up on a bet,” he shrugged. He was toying with Ashlyn and she knew it.

“I see,” Ali replied as she looked back and forth at the two, knowing there was more to the story. “What was the bet?” She feigned innocence.

“Well you see…” he began.

“Can it Velasquez!” Ash hissed angrily and slammed her fist on the desk, her face beginning to turn red already. She had just fixed things with Ali, the last thing she needed was to piss her off again.

Ali knew there was something going on. She positioned herself between Ash and Velasquez, breaking Ash’s hold on the man. “Come on. Spill.” It wasn’t a request, it was a demand. He could tell by her parsed lips and the way her hands were resting firmly on her hips.

Velasquez was suddenly stumbling for his own words and hadn’t expected the brunette to show such a dominating side. He hadn’t planned on actually telling her what the bet was and had just been trying to make Harris sweat, but now he felt powerless under the woman’s hard stare. “Uh…well. I uhh… I kinda bet Harris a hundred bucks that Brody was going to take you home from the bar the other night.” He hung his head in shame unable to meet Ali’s eyes.

Ali’s cheeks started to get hot. She was embarrassed and again turned to the money laying on the desk before something clicked. “Why did you pay her two hundred then?”

Ash could see that Velasquez was panicking and felt bad that he was squirming. Ali’s back was to her so she had a bit more confidence and stepped in. “Cuz I upped the bet to two hundred that he wouldn’t get you to go home with him,” she said quietly, like she was ashamed of it as well.

Ali whipped around, “Are you serious, Harris?” She kept looking back to the two cops who were sitting in front of her hanging their heads in shame. They looked so pathetic, like sad puppies that had just gotten caught doing something bad and she had to fight a smile back.

Ash knew she was in deep trouble. Ali was fuming and she could feel her glare piercing through to her soul. She simply nodded and tensely waited for the hammer to drop, but the only thing that dropped was Ali’s frown as she erupted in laughter.

Harris and Velasquez looked up at Ali who was doubled over laughing by herself and then quizzically back at each other.

“Uhh…what’s so funny?” Ash asked tentatively.

“First of all,” she held one finger in the air, “I can’t believe you two assholes bet on me like that. Second of all, Velasquez you got hustled because Harris already knew there was ZERO chance I was going home with him. And third, I’ll take half of this as payment.” She reached down on the desk and grabbed a hundred dollar bill from the stack which she quickly folded and slipped in her front pocket. “Pleasure doing business with you two,” she winked. “I’ll be in the car, Harris.” After slinging her light grey jacket over her shoulder she turned and left leaving a stunned Harris and Velasquez sitting at their desks.

“What did she mean that I got hustled?” he glared at Ash through narrowed eyes.

“Gotta go!” she squeaked before grabbing the hundred dollars, her jacket and gun off her desk and rushing after Ali to the parking lot.

She sprinted and quickly slid into the driver’s seat and fired the car engine up. “Wegottago,” she got out as she quickly switched the car into gear and pulled out of the lot onto the street.

“Velasquez is chasing after the car, Harris. I think you must have forgotten something.”

Her smug look was enough to let Ash know she was joking so she just shook her head. “Sorry about that,” she murmured as she looked at Velasquez who was standing on the side of the road shaking his fists as the car sped away.

“Mhmm,” Ali hummed as she stared back at her waiting for more.

“No really,” Ash said and turned to meet her gaze as they pulled up to a stop sign. “That was seriously all in good fun. I didn’t mean it like that.”

Ali could tell that she really did feel bad and to be honest it almost made her feel included in the group that was always known for joking around and pranking each other. “It’s okay,” she shrugged. “But I’m keeping the hundred bucks.”

“Fine then lunch is on you,” Ash retorted smoothly, finally regaining her confidence that always seemed to disappear around the brunette. “And I’m going to order the most expensive burger on the menu,” she teased.

Ali’s mind flashed back to the last time they got burgers together and how poorly that ended. It also reminded her of a certain someone that had also made an appearance there. “So...how did your night end on Friday?” She tried to sound nonchalant and hoped the slight shake in her voice didn’t betray the true intentions behind the question.

The question caught Ashlyn off guard and she stuttered a bit before collecting herself. “It was…uh it was good.” She couldn’t help the smile that crossed her face as she recalled the night’s events.

“Ew you’re gross,” said Ali as she playfully slapped her arm.

“WHAT! You asked,” Ash concluded with a shrug and shot Ali a pointed glance.

“Mhmm,” she responded. “Maybe I should have gone home with Brody,” she mused. “At least I would have gotten some.” It was merely meant to get a rise out of Ash, but unfortunately it had the opposite effect.

Ash slowed the car down at the red light and looked over at her. “A beautiful girl like you could have had anyone at that place,” she said honestly, her soft hazel eyes conveying just how sincere she was being. "Seriously, Ali." Ash caught the flicker in her eye and sensed that Ali was going to respond with something serious, but instead she just shook her head and shrugged.

_Not you_ , Ali thought. She almost said it out loud, but caught herself. “Eh just haven’t found the right person yet.”

Ash couldn’t tell if she was being honest or if it was a hit that she wasn’t a one night stand type of girl so she just turned back to the road and nodded wordlessly.

Picking up on her silence and shift in the mood, Ali tried to reel the conversation back in. She was glad they were actually having a real conversation and really didn’t want it to end. “You think you’ll see her again?” As much as she didn’t want to know, she couldn’t help the curiosity that was gnawing at her.

“Who knows,” Ash shrugged. She hadn’t given it too much thought, but knew there was always a chance. “I dunno we had a good time and she’s a nice girl. By the way she was yelling my name I’m sure she’d be interested in seeing me again,” she added with a wink. When Ali scrunched her face in disgust, she decided to change the conversation. “So what’s your story, Krieger?”

Ali looked out the window deep in thought. Where to even begin? “Nothing too special,” she said plainly. “Had a serious boyfriend through high school, but when I got to college I guess I let my wild side out.”

Ashlyn laughed and shot her a pointed look. “You? A wild side?” Her surprise was apparent.

“You have no idea,” Ali responded with a wink and more seductively then intended. It was fun making her partner sweat and she noticed her response definitely had the desired effect.

A wave of heat rushed through Ash’s body and to her core at the woman’s words. Was she flirting with her? She laughed it off, “I can’t wait to see that one day!” She shook her head with another chuckle. “I just might stick around the bar next time to see that wild side come out.”

Ali pretended to pout and cross her arms, but couldn’t fight the smile that tugged at the corner of her lips. In reality, she wished Ash would have stuck around. She didn’t know what it was, but she was drawn to her partner in a way that couldn’t be explained in words, only in the intense longing her body felt whenever she was away. Even when they had been arguing she had, in a weird way, enjoyed the blonde’s presence. Even the bickering. Ash’s questions pulled her out of her contemplative state.

“So what happened in college? Did you get a girlfriend?” Ash was actually very intrigued about her partner now as she cast a sideways glance at the brunette who was deep in thought.

“Eh a few,” she shrugged. “I dated one girl for a few years, but then moved out here to join the force and she wasn’t a long distance type of girl. I took a trip to surprise her one day and found her in bed with someone else. So…that was that.” Her voice trailed off and she forced a laugh to ease the awkwardness that followed.

Ash cleared her throat. She knew all too well the feeling. “Well sorry about that. She didn’t deserve you anyways then.”

A comfortable silence settled in between them as they pulled into the restaurant and Ashlyn parked the car. Twenty minutes later they had gotten their food and were making small talk as they ate. Both were surprised how easily they conversed back and forth now that they decided not to hate each other. They joked and laughed and got to know each other while they ate, sharing old police force stories, both good and bad ones.

Ashlyn sat back in the booth and stretched her arms behind her head while letting out a sigh. “I’m stuffed,” she said with a grin.

“You ate two burgers, fries and a milkshake so what did you expect?” Ali playfully scolded her.

“Hey I was hungry,” she retorted. “Besides you’re buying.”

Ashlyn winked at her which again sent a shiver through Ali. She didn’t know what it was, but she couldn’t help but be drawn to her. Besides being extremely attractive she was starting to see the real Ashlyn Harris and like everyone else, she definitely liked what she saw.

“Here’s your change,” said the older waitress in a frail voice as she slid some bills on the table with a shaky hand. “Let me grab these for you.” She reached across the table slid the plates over to herself.

Ash let out a yelp when the woman knocked a half-full glass over, instantly soaking her shirt with ice cold water. She leapt up and shook her hands off and met the woman’s eyes.

She looked shocked as she apologized frantically. “Oh my goodness I am so sorry. I’m so sorry! I can’t believe how clumsy I am.” She whipped out a rag and tried to quickly clean the water that was dripping over the sides, but her shaking hand was making it even worse and spilling more water over the edge and onto the floor and booth chair.

Ash watched for a moment and felt awful. She could tell the woman was extremely upset at her mistake and she slightly reminded her of her own grandmother. As upset as she was about being soaked, she thought of how she would want someone to treat her grandma before she acted. She reached out and gently grabbed the woman’s hand and waited for their eyes to meet. “It’s okay. Just water,” she shrugged and flashed the woman the biggest dimpled smile she could muster.

“No dear I’m so sorry! I’m sorry…”

Ash gently tugged the rag from her hand and began to methodically wipe the table herself. “Here let me help. Can you grab me some extra napkins?” she asked softly.

The woman nodded and pulled a stack from her apron. “Here you go dear,” she said and extended the napkins to her and then took a few to help Ashlyn with the table. 

Ashlyn smiled and took the napkins to blot the table. Finally, she had it dried and turned to see the woman smiling graciously back at her. 

“Thank you. You’re too kind,” the woman said and Ash could tell there was a small tear forming in the corner of her eye.

“Accidents happen,” she shrugged and tried to play it off.

“Well next time you two come in, lunch is on me,” the woman said seriously.

Ash wanted to argue, but knew that there was no use. She nodded politely, “We would really appreciate that.”

“Have a good rest of the day, Officers,” the woman said with a nod before retreating back to the kitchen.

Ash turned to find Ali staring at her with a contemplative grin.

“What?”

“Nothing,” she shrugged. It wasn’t nothing though. Seeing how Ashlyn was with that woman had warmed her a bit. She had seen the same thing happen numerous times and no one had ever been that patient, helpful or forgiving. “You were just really sweet,” she mused.

“Oh don’t give me that,” Ashlyn chuckled with a sheepish grin. “I’m not sweet. I’m a hard ass Detective.”

Ali rolled her eyes and added, “Mhmmm,” sarcastically. “I’m sure you are.”

Ash knew she had been caught and honestly didn’t mind that Ali found her actions endearing. She decided to give in just this once. “Alright fine. Just don’t let the guys at the station know.”

“Deal,” said Ali as she added an extra few dollars onto the tip she had already set aside and scribbled a cute smiley face on the bill.

Now it was Ash’s turn to raise an eyebrow when she caught Ali's sweet gesture.

Ali shrugged like it was nothing. “What? She looked like she was having a rough day.”

On their way out the door Ashlyn just laughed and held the door open for her partner. When she passed through she leaned in towards her ear and whispered, “Don’t worry. I won’t tell the guys you’re a big softie either.”


	11. On Top

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lots happening in this one! Tried to incorporate some things that people mentioned in the comments so let me know what you think :)

“Cheers to Krieger and Harris for taking down that thug Dante today!” shouted Brody as he lifted his glass high in the air above his head. He was about to kick back the shot, when he realized one of the dynamic duo was missing. “Hey, where’s Krieger?” he asked as he looked to Ashlyn who managed a shrug.

The group turned and looked around, but Ash was the first to spot her. She had left to take a phone call a while ago, but now she was leaning against the wall with a hot chick chatting her up. Ash cringed when she saw the other brunette lean in to whisper something in Ali’s ear. She didn’t like the way Ali’s nose crinkled in a grin at her words or the way the woman’s hand lingered on her hip even after she had leaned back, and she definitely didn’t like it when she saw the woman grab Ali’s phone and type in what she presumed to be her number. What bothered her most though was that she really had no right to be bothered at all. Ali wasn’t her girlfriend and she had done basically the same thing just a few nights ago with Alex. Still, after the last few days she couldn’t stop thinking about the brunette and the longing feeling in the pit of her stomach just wouldn’t go away.

“Krieger get over here!” yelled Brody across the bar when he finally spotted her as well.

The rest of the guys chimed in and after giving the woman a quick hug and suggestive grin, Ali finally made her way back over, shrugging as she approached Ashlyn who was giving her a knowing glance with a raised eyebrow. As much as she felt something towards the blonde she knew nothing was likely to come of it. 

“Anyways, as I was saying…here’s to Krieger and Harris! Congrats, ladies!” Brody shouted when they had all gathered together again.

The group all raised their glasses and clanked them together with a hearty rumble before downing the shots in their hands. Ash and Ali were surrounded by everyone slapping them on the backs and congratulating them for their newest victory and they couldn’t shake the smiles that had fallen on their faces. 

“Quite the score you two had today,” said Velasquez as he came up and wrapped an arm around each of the women. “You two make a pretty good team, don’t you Harris?”

Ash groaned, knowing that he was referring to the time when all she could talk about was how much she hated Ali. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. I get it. My partner isn’t the worst one on the force,” she let out with a laugh before playfully punching him in the side.

“Not the worst?” Ali responded with a raised eyebrow as she stepped back and shot Ash a skeptical glare.

“Well yeah I mean you aren’t the absolute worsttt,” she teased before receiving her own playful slap in the arm. “I think you’re definitely the lucky one in this arrangement,” she added with a wink.

Ali shook her head and rolled her eyes while she thought on Ashlyn’s statement. She knew the blonde was just teasing her, but she couldn’t help but see the truth in the words.

 

_“Back door! They’re coming out the back door!”_

_Ali didn’t even have time to react to the information coming over the radio before Ashlyn sprung up from their hiding place to intercept the men trying to escape through the back door. She knew their backup would be preoccupied with the other men in the house and that it was their job to clean up the guys sneaking out the back. Ali followed quickly behind to back her up. The first man that came bursting out the door took them by surprise and leveled Ali to the ground. He jumped up to take off, but didn’t get far before Ashlyn had tackled him to the ground. They fought for position, but Ashlyn quickly got him on his back and subdued him. Just as she looked to Ali to make sure she was okay, she saw another man come crashing out of the door, wielding a gun._

_“KRIEGER, GUN!” she screamed as the main trained his gun on Ali who had begun to pick herself up off the ground, but was frozen in fear._

_Without even a second thought Ashlyn threw herself at Ali and dragged her to the ground as a gunshot rang through the air. The bullet missed both of them and lodged itself into the shed they had just been hiding behind, but the sound of the gunshot fired Ashlyn up even more. She turned and lunged at the man, taking him off guard as they tumbled to the ground. The gun slipped out of his hand and slid across the ground to come to rest a few feet away. With a solid right hook, Ash connect her fist with the man’s face and he let out a cry. The blow weakened him for a minute, but there was still a fight left in him. He swung back and connected a solid blow to the blonde’s temple. She was dazed for a moment and he seized the opportunity to reach out for his weapon. Ashlyn grabbed his arm and pulled it back, using all of her strength to keep the man from stretching his reach for the weapon._

_“ALI, GET THE GUN!”_

_It was too late though because Ali had already grabbed it from the ground and had it pointed at the man’s face. He lifted his hands in the air and Ashlyn rolled off of him quickly and whipped her handcuffs out._

_“You alright?” she looked up at Ali whose chest was rapidly rising and falling. When she nodded Ashlyn quickly dished out the orders. “You stay here with him, I’m going after the other guy!” She nodded towards the fence that the other man was quickly trying to scale and then took off running after grabbing Ali’s cuffs._

_After a few long strides, she had closed the gap and grabbed the man’s leg, ripping him down from the top of the fence. “Nice try, asshole!” she said as she pounced on him and slapped the handcuffs on him. “This my friend, is what you get for messing with my partner,” she said as she ground his face into the dirt a bit while he yelled profanities back at her._

 

Ali couldn’t help but think how hot Ashlyn had looked in that moment, her muscles bulging as the man strained against her. Her hair was caked onto her face as she wiped the beads of sweat off with her tattooed arm and smiled her dimpled smile back at Ali who nodded in appreciation. If Ali could have taken here right there, she would have. 

When she looked back up she realized that everyone was staring at her, still waiting for a response to Ashlyn’s teasing. As appreciative as she was for Ashlyn’s actions that day, she couldn’t let her get the best of her again. “You’re such an ass, Harris,” she said before taking a sip of her beer. “And you know I’m the best you could ever get,” she added with a teasing wink.

Ash almost spit out her drink at her partner’s statement and couldn’t figure out if there was a hidden meaning behind it. Quickly, she recovered her confidence and smirked back at her. “Oh yeah? From what Brody tells me, I was all you could think about for a few weeks there.”

A deep shade of red instantly crept up Ali’s cheeks. She had definitely told that to Brody in confidence and didn’t think the fact that she studied up on her cases and was originally so excited to be her partner would have ever gotten back to Ashlyn. 

Ash could tell she had Ali right where she wanted her as she looked at her frantically stuttering and trying to find her words. She leaned in towards Ali so Velasquez couldn’t hear and whispered in her ear, “Don’t worry. You aren’t the first girl that couldn’t stop thinking about me and you certainly won’t be the last.” She pulled back and winked before taking a swig of her drink and grinning widely.

Ali just shook her head. There was no way to come back from that so she decided a glare was going to have to do for the time being. Thankfully, Brody and Rodgers wandered over to rescue her from further embarrassment.

“Hey if it isn’t the two leading ladies of the force,” teased Rodgers as he handed Ash and Ali another shot each. “Cheers to bringing down that scumbag!”

They all clinked their glassed and then threw back the shot of tequila. Ali took it like a champ and seductively bit down on her lime as she looked back at Ashlyn who couldn’t shake the taste from her mouth. Her face had scrunched up and she was shaking her head as if that would help get rid of the burning in her mouth and throat. Ali couldn’t help but smile at how cute she looked struggling to handle her shot. She definitely hadn’t thought her big bad partner couldn’t do a shot of tequila and there was no way she was going to let her get away with it. “Wow, Harris. I didn’t know you were such a champ at taking shots.”

Ashlyn sent her a glaring look as the rest of the guys all joined in on the teasing. The truth was she could do shots of anything, but tequila. “Funny, Krieger. Maybe next time I won’t catch you when you’re coming over that fence,” she said with a wink as she watched Ali’s face flush again.

 

_“There’s no way in there without being seen unless we go over that back fence.”_

_“Do you really think that’s a good idea?” asked Ashlyn as she surveyed the area in front of them._

_“I think it’s the only way. These assholes have slipped us three times now. We’ve got them right where we want them and backup is on the way. We just have to get our position in the back so they can’t escape that way when we send the guys in to breach through the front.”_

_Ash weighed the options and realized that Ali was right. They couldn’t let these guys get away again and their time was running low. “Alright. Let’s get to the fence and post up there while we wait for backup.”_

_“Got it,” Ali nodded and strapped her vest on. “Let’s do this, Harris,” she said with a smile._

_Detective Harris almost melted at her confident smile, but quickly refocused. They were heading into a dangerous operation and she couldn’t let her mind stray. “After you Krieger,” she said and extended her hand to let her lead. “I’ll follow you on this one.”_

_At first Ali was a bit taken aback because Ashlyn had never let her lead before, but there was no way she was going to pass up the opportunity to gain more valuable experience. “Alright. Follow me.”_

_They wove through the trees behind the house until they reached the large fence that closed off the back of the property to the woods that surrounded it. Ali chose a section of the fence that was almost backed up to a shed so that no one would see them hop the fence. “You first,” she motioned for Ashlyn to go first._

_Ash nodded and quickly scaled the tree that got her half-way up the fence. She grabbed on to the top of the fence and quickly pulled herself up, ignoring the strain in her biceps. After swinging her leg over, she was able to steady herself and then drop down to the other side._

_“You good, Detective?” hissed Ali anxiously when she heard Ashlyn grunt upon landing._

_Ash coughed and stood up to dust herself off. “Yeah. Careful with the landing. It’s a bit rough over here.”_

_Ali nodded to herself before hoisting her own body up the tree. “I’m coming over,” she whispered through the fence as she grabbed onto the top of it to pull herself up. In one swift motion she swung her leg over and steadied herself so that she was straddling the fence. Just then she heard the back door open and someone call out to another man. In a fit of panic, she swung her other leg over the fence and dropped down roughly to the other side._

_She landed hard, although the landing wasn’t as tough as she thought it would be. She breathed a sigh of relief until she opened her eyes and realized why. She was lying on top of her partner in a very compromising position. She was straddling the astonished blonde whose hands were wrapped around her body, and holding her waist a bit lower than would be platonically acceptable, and their faces were just inches apart. Ashlyn looked longingly back at Ali, desperately wanting to close the gap between their lips. The brunette’s heart was racing against her own that had found a similar rhythm and she could feel her warm breath on her face. They stayed there silently for a moment, which felt like hours, staring deep into each other’s eyes as they waited until the men clamored back inside the house._

_When Ali finally pushed up off of her partner, she immediately missed not only the warmth of her touch, but also the chills that had been sent reverberating down her spine. She cleared her throat and helped the blonde up while she racked her brain for the right words to say. Words weren’t coming to her though when her mind was filled with the images of Ashlyn’s piercing yet soothing gaze. There had been something behind her eyes that she hadn’t seen before and she couldn’t quite place what it was._

_“I uhh…sorry I missed the landing.”_

_“I think you nailed the landing perfectly, Krieger.” Ashlyn immediately wanted to kick herself for responding without thinking. She could see the shock flow over Ali’s face along with the redness that crept over her cheeks as the brunette processed her response. Ashlyn awkwardly rubbed the back of her neck with her hand, waiting for Ali to say something, anything to save her from the taunting silence._

_“Funny, Harris,” she played it off with an eye roll. “Now can you wipe that smirk from your face so we can go catch these assholes?”_

 

The guys turned away when some newer Officer’s walked in and Ali grabbed Ashlyn’s hand to get her full attention. “About that…”

“What about it?” Ashlyn shrugged as if it was nothing.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Ali was pressing for more, wanting to know if Ashlyn felt the same thing when their bodies were pressed together earlier that day.

“What is there to talk about, Al? You fell off the fence because someone came into the backyard and you just so happened to fall on top of me. It happens.” She took a sip of her drink and glanced back at her partner who seemed to be deep in thought.

Ali could tell that she wasn’t going to get anything out of the blonde, at least not for the time being. She had such an indifferent look on and really seemed to think nothing of the encounter. Ali reasoned that her coy response must have just been her way of joking and that it really meant nothing. She understood, but still couldn’t help but find herself longing for her touch again. “Yeah, okay. I just wanted to make sure that…uh…that we were on the same page with that.”

“Yeah no worries, Krieger,” Ashlyn said as she gently grabbed her shoulder. “Next time you’re going over the fence first,” she added with a laugh.

“And why’s that?” Ali asked confidently while shooting her a pointed look.

Ash pulled her in closer so that her lips were almost touching Ali’s ear and the words that left her mouth sent shivers down Officer Krieger’s spine for the second time that day. “Because then I’ll get to land on you.” She pulled back a little to flash a cocky grin before finishing, “And I always love to be on top.”


	12. Harder

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's a story without a little of my specialty? Here's some angst for ya ;) I've got the next chapter almostt finished so I might get that one out tonight too!

“Right there. That’s the spot. Don’t stop!” Ashlyn looked down at her partner who was panting and sweating, her face locked in complete concentration. “Yeah that’s it, Al. Harder!”

With her last ounce of strength Ali locked out her elbows and finished her last rep. With a groan and Ashlyn’s guidance she re-racked the weights and laid on the bench with her eyes closed panting for a few seconds. When she opened her eyes, she saw a familiar pair of hazel eyes hovering over her.

“Good work, Krieger,” the blonde said with a smile as she wiped a bead of sweat from her own forehead.

“Yeah. Thanks for the encouragement,” she breathed out after catching her breath and looked up into her comforting gaze.

“Hey it’s no problem,” Ash shrugged. “You know I always gotta have my girls finish,” she stated which earned her another groan from the brunette.

“Really, Ash?” Ali challenged with a pointed look. It wasn’t uncommon for the two to joke around and flirt, but she still couldn’t just let it slide.

Ashlyn just smirked and began pulling the weights off the barbell to place them back on the rack. “Really really. I can get you some references if you need,” she teased with another smug grin.

“You’re impossible!” Ali squealed before smacking her partner in the arm. “Seriously though, thanks for pushing me. I didn’t think I was going to be able to get that last rep in.”

“Any time,” Ash said, letting her smirk fall into a genuine smile. “I’m just glad to have a workout partner again. This is the first time I haven’t had to work out with one of the guys in years,” she managed with a shrug.

“Yeah same,” Ali agreed. “It’s not fun working out with the guys because they all try to show off.”

Ash chuckled and nodded as she slid the last free weight back onto the rack. “I know exactly what you mean. I’m going to go hit the showers though. Want to grab some dinner after?” She winced at the words that came out of her mouth before she could catch them, but couldn’t help but hold her breath as she waited for the answer.

Ali froze for a moment before she responded. “Oh. Um…I…uh I actually have a date planned tonight. I met someone at the bar and she texted me and asked if I wanted to grab dinner.” Ali didn’t know why she gave out so much information, but she somehow felt like she owed Ashlyn an explanation.

“Oh…um…that’s great.” She struggled to put together words, a bit put off at the brunette’s confession. She knew that Ali was referencing the girl she met the other night when they were all at the bar and instantly regretted asking the question as she was overcome by a sense of unwarranted jealousy. After gaining her composure she nodded reassuringly. “Good for you, Krieger. Maybe another night then?” She quickly spun on her heels before even waiting for an answer and wanted to slap herself for the way she was acting. Sure her and Ali would often flirt, but they both knew it would never go farther than that. It was just a simple case of attraction that was bound to fade away once they got used to each other and spent more time together. Still, she couldn’t help feeling disappointed that Ali was off the market. She quickly slipped into the shower before Ali came in, hoping to wash off quick and make her escape when she entered the shower. She knew she had no right to be upset, but still wanted to avoid anymore awkward conversations about the date.

After a quick shampoo and rinse, she turned the water off and wrapped her towel tight around her waist. She slipped out of the stall and took a few steps down the hall to where the lockers were located. After entering the combination, she opened up her locker and grabbed her change of clothes. She let her towel slip to the ground after she pulled on her boy shorts and sports bra and then turned back to her locker to dig through it in search of deodorant.

“I know it’s in here,” she mumbled to herself as she frantically tore through the contents of the half-length locker. She was so engrossed in her search and rescue, that she didn’t realize the water in the other stall had long been turned off. She heard a light giggle behind her and turned to see her brunette partner leaning against a locker looking over at her with a raised eyebrow. She was wrapped tightly in her own towel and a splash of brunette hair was draped over her shoulders. Ash’s eyes dropped down to her own wardrobe, which for the moment was her undergarments. Normally, she would thrive in this type of situation because she was always confident about her body, but she could feel her cheeks flush, especially when she saw her partner’s eyes roaming over her bare skin.

“Cute boxers,” Ali teased as she looked down to the superman boy shorts that Ash was sporting.

Her cheeks flushed even more as she began stuttering. “Uhhh…um…hey, Al. Uh…shit,” she turned around and searched frantically, “where’s my fucking towel?”

Ali just watched the scene unfold and continued laughing. It was quite a sight to see her usually cocky and cheeky partner be reduced the mere stutters. She stepped forward and plucked a towel off the ground, “You mean this one?” she asked with a coy smile.

“Yeah, thanks.”

Ash reached out for it, but Ali didn’t hand it over to her just yet. She was enjoying the view and wanted a few more moments to admire her partners toned muscles and ink. The six pack she had developed instantly left Ali’s mouth dry and it took everything in her not to go over and slam her against the lockers before running her hands and mouth over every inch of her partner’s hardened body. When Ash cleared her throat, Ali ripped her eyes up from her hips and realized she had been caught staring.

“Uhh…here…here you go.” She handed her the towel with an outstretched hand and diverted her eyes.

“Like what you see?” Ash teased. She felt some confidence rush back to her when she saw how dark with lust Ali’s eyes had become.

“I was just checking out your ink,” Ali shrugged.

“Right.” Ash laughed to herself, knowing full well that Ali’s eyes had wandered to plenty of places where there were no tattoos. She quickly slipped her shorts on and pulled a white Nike tee over her head. “Well…enjoy your date,” she got out before turning her back to cram everything into her locker.

Ash grabbed her phone out of her locker and plopped down on the bench to check her messages. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Ali turn and head back towards the sinks. “Try not to think about my abs the entire time you’re at dinner,” she teased as she clicked on the newest voicemail that had popped up on her notifications and lifted her phone to her ear.

Ali had already turned the corner when Ash made the comment so luckily she didn’t see her freeze like a kid who just got caught with their hand in the cookie jar. She rolled her eyes at her partners teasing, but couldn’t ignore the fact that she was thinking about her abs. She couldn’t stop thinking about them ore the rest of her tanned, muscular frame. Get it together, Krieger. 

After splashing some water on her face to get her mind out of the gutter, she slipped on her clothes while she gathered her thoughts and came up with the perfect witty response. She tossed her hair up in a messy bun and grabbed her makeup bag from the edge of the sink. A smile undeniably crept over her face at the comment she was about to make as she walked back towards where her partner was finishing up changing, but it quickly fell when she took in the sight before her.

Ashlyn was sitting on the bench with her head in her hands rocking back and forth, mumbling incoherently in a scared, frantic voice. It didn’t take more than a second for Ali to drop her towel and makeup bag and rush to her partner’s side. Without a thought, she dropped onto the bench by her side and wrapped her arms tightly around her.   
“Shhh. Shhh it’s okay. Hey, Ash I’m here. Tell me what’s wrong.” She ran her fingers through the blonde’s hair with one hand while the other remained tightly around her side, pressing their bodies firmly together. She held her close and waited for a response, but none came. Soon the incoherent mumbles gave way to uncontrollable sobs and Ali again wrapped both hands back around her body to try to soothe her. She didn’t know what the cause of the pain was, but it broke her to see her partner like this. Ashlyn was always full of life, happy and confident, but now so seemed lost and inconsolable. 

For ten minutes they stayed that way. Ash was slumped over crying, her head pressed firmly to Ali’s chest. Ali’s arms were wrapped securely around her and her lips were pressed into Ashlyn’s hair. For ten minutes, it seemed like they were the only two people in the world that existed. 

Finally, Ashlyn’s cries became less violent and her body began to settle. As her mind cleared, she realized where she was and what she was doing and she quickly separated herself from Ali.

“I’m sorry,” she said and the embarrassment in her voice was evident as she dropped her eyes to the floor to avoid Ali’s gaze.

Ali didn’t care though. She reached out and gently grabbed Ashlyn’s arm to pull her back closer. With her free hand, she lifted her chin and met her red, swollen eyes with a reassuring gaze. “Hey, it’s okay. What happened, Ash?”

With a sigh, the tears began to roll again. “My…my Uncle just passed away.”

“Oh I’m so sorry,” Ali replied as she placed her hand over her heart. “I’m sorry, Ash.”

“Me too,” she huffed as she leaned forward so that her elbows were resting on her knees. Ali could see the tears rolling off her cheeks and dropping to the floor at her feet. “I just didn't think things could actually get harder...He’s the one that kept me out of trouble when I was younger and steered me to join the force. He’s the reason I’m the woman I am today…” Her voice trailed off as her mind wandered back to her childhood.

Ali could tell that there was more to the story, but didn’t want to push it. “Well he did a great job because you’re an amazing woman.”

Ash lifted her eyes from the floor and Ali could see the gratification in them. “Thank you, Al,” she said and tried to force a smile. “Sorry that you had to see me like this…I just…I don’t even know what to do.”

Ali stood up and grabbed Ashlyn’s beg from her locker before closing it. “Come on. Let’s get you home and we can figure it out from there. Okay?”

Ash shook her head and frowned. “No it’s okay. I can figure it out Ali, but thanks.” Her voice was still cracking and eyes were still watering, but she hoped that she had played it off enough to convince her partner.

“You’re not okay and you shouldn’t be driving. Come on, I’ll take you home.”

“What about your date?” Ashlyn said through pained eyes as she wiped a few more stray tears away, shocked by the act of compassion.

“You’re more important,” she said with an indifferent shrug. She didn’t even need a moment to consider it. “No matter what, I got your six, Harris.”


	13. Arrangements

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Flashbacks are in italics just an FYI! Enjoy :)

“You didn’t have to do all of that last night you know,” Ash looked over at her sincerely, yet with a trace of guilt.

Ali shrugged at the blonde and turned back to her phone. “I know.”

Unsure of what to say back, Ash turned to look out the window. She let her tired mind wander back to the events from the previous night.

 

_“What’re you doing?”_

_“I’m coming in,” Ali replied and unbuckled her seatbelt without waiting for an answer._

_Ashlyn just sat in the car looking at her skeptically as she removed her own seat belt._

_“Ash. you can barely form sentences right now. I’m just going to come in and make sure you’re okay. I’m not going to leave you like this.”_

_A small smile crept over the blonde’s lips as she looked through her puffy, red eyes at the brunette who was doing her best to be comforting. “Okay. Fine.”_

 

From the corner of her eye Ali took in Ashlyn’s perfect silhouette as the sun from the window cast a halo of light around her face. She was deep in thought and looked so tired and in pain that it broke Ali’s heart to see her so defeated. She was just glad she was there to help make things easier. She laid her head back on the headrest and closed her eyes. She hadn’t slept much the other night either, but her mind was still in overdrive, replaying everything over and over in her head.

 

_“I know…I have to talk to my Lieutenant before I book a flight mom. Yes…I know!”_

_Ali had made her way back from the kitchen where she was preparing them a quick meal, but paused before heading into the living room. She saw Ashlyn sitting on the couch, sobbing with her forehead in her palm as her mother filled her in on the details of her Uncle’s death and the funeral plans. Her shoulders were sagging and her body language mirrored someone that had just lost everything. She wasn’t exactly sure of the relationship they had, but knew it must have been a strong bond._

_“I know, Mom. I have a lot…there’s a lot to do. I don’t know. I just need…I’ll figure it all out. Okay?”_

_Ali sighed as she watched the distraught blonde’s interaction. She was realizing that there was so much more to Ash than just being a cop. Behind the tough exterior and confident grin that her partner paraded around with there was raw passion and emotion. There was so much more behind that shield that she was slowly getting glimpses of._

_“No. I don’t have anyone to come with me. Yeah, I’m not with Jenna anymore. No I don’t want to get into that right now. I’ll be fine on my own, Mom. Yes I will.”_

_She couldn’t help but note that the blonde seemed to be trying to convince herself more so than her mother as she nervously played with the zipper on her jacket._

_“Right. Yeah text me the details. Okay. Love you too.”_

_She hung up the phone and dropped her face into both hands with a sigh after letting the phone drop to the floor. Ali took that as her signal and entered the room quietly._

_“Hey, Ash,” she nudged her shoulder gently when she took a seat next to her on the couch. “I’m making you some Mac and Cheese. It’s all you really had in the kitchen and I didn’t want to make a big mess looking for things.”_

_“I’m not really hungry,” Ashlyn mumbled, still not lifting her head from her palms. She was embarrassed and didn’t want her partner seeing her this vulnerable._

_“Well it’ll be a little bit before it’s ready so why don’t you just lie down and close your eyes?” She could tell that her partner was emotionally and physically exhausted and some sleep would help. “I’ll get you up when dinner is ready.”_

_Surprisingly, Ashlyn didn’t fight her and scooted down so that she sprawled the length of the couch. The couch wasn’t quite long enough so her head rested partially on Ali’s leg, but neither said anything about it. Ali sat there in silence, fighting the urge to place a comforting kiss on the blonde’s tussled hair._

 

When Ashlyn looked back over at the brunette, she could tell that she had finally fallen asleep with her head pressed into the headrest. She looked so peaceful and a wave of calm washed over her as she drew on the brunette’s aura. She hadn’t realized how tired her partner was until a closer inspection revealed puffy eyes with slight bags under them. With a sigh Ashlyn turned her attention back to the window, riddled with another surge of guilt at how the night before had played out.

 

_“Ash…wake up, Ash.”_

_Ashlyn felt a slight budge of her shoulder and slowly peeled her eyes open. They stung from all of the crying, but the sight in front of her made it all hurt a bit less. Ali extended her hand which held a steaming bowl of mac and cheese._

_“This looks great, Kriegs,” she said with a genuine, albeit small, smile, the first she had displayed since the locker room._

_Ali just smiled and plopped down next to her on the couch. They ate in silence for a few minutes, the only noise permeating the room being the clink of forks on their ceramic bowls. Finally, Ash sighed as she finished up her bowl and slid it across the coffee table sitting before them._

_“What’s up, Ash?” Ali said, her eyes laden with genuine concern._

_“There’s just so much…so much to do,” she responded with a shudder. “I’ve got to call the Lieutenant, find a backup for you while I’m gone, book plane tickets, write my eulogy...” her voice trailed off as her mind surged ahead at the growing list of things she needed to attend to._

_Ali set her bowl down before resting her hand on Ashlyn’s knee. “Hey, calm down. It’s okay.” She could tell that the blonde was getting worked up again._

_“It’s not, Al. There’s so much to do!”_

_Ali shrank back a bit, she hadn’t expected Ashlyn to sound so angry, but knew it was a reasonable reaction given the circumstances. “Hey, listen,” she said with a calming hand raised in the air. “It’s all taken care of, Ash.”_

_Her face softened a bit, “What do you mean?”_

_“I called the Lieutenant and explained everything to him. You’re all set with taking the time off. I found someone else to cover the case for the week and I booked the plane tickets already.”_

_“Tickets?” Ash asked with her face scrunched in confusion._

_“Yeah…tickets. Your ticket and mine.”_

_“Y…yours?” Ash fumbled with her words as her eyes went wide._

_“Yes. I didn’t want you to have to go through this alone. Is that okay? I can cancel mine if not.”_

_“Yeah…that’s…that’s okay. Are you sure? My family is a bit rough around the edges and you really don’t have to do this.” She tried to sound convincing, but the truth was her heart had melted at the kind gesture and she wanted nothing more than to have Ali there by her side._

_“Yes, Ash.”_

_“Like 100% sure? I don’t want you to have to waste your time off to come with me to a funeral…” A few tears spilled down Ashlyn’s cheek, but this time they were happy tears. She was so used to everyone abandoning her when things got tough, but now Ali seemed to be doing the exact opposite. She was eagerly absorbing the pain and hurt and trying to shield Ashlyn from the burden. It was an unfamiliar feeling, but a feeling that she didn’t want to ever fade._

_“I’m sure,” replied Ali confidently and she smiled when she saw the pure gratitude flicker in Ashlyn’s eyes. It was in that look that she read everything that Ashlyn was unable to bring herself to say out loud, which caused the corner of her lips to turn up just a little bit more._

 

The voice of the Captain over the loudspeaker broke Ali out of her peaceful sleep.

“Ladies and Gentleman, we are now beginning our descent into sunny Orlando, Florida. Temperatures are in the mid 80’s and there’s some nice, bright sunshine for all you northerners!”

Ashlyn looked over at Ali and chuckled at her disheveled appearance. Her usually perfect hair was a mess, sprawled over her shoulders in a tangled chaos and her eyes were only half open, still groggy from the sound hour nap she took. Even in her current state though, Ash couldn’t ignore how beautiful she looked. She gave Ali’s knee a light squeeze and managed a reassuring smile, “Hope you’re ready to meet the Harris clan.”


	14. Fine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little backstory on Ash for you and of course some more cuteness :) Enjoy!

“It was a beautiful speech.”

Ashlyn ripped her eyes up from the floor and found her partner leaning against the door frame, arms folded across her chest. Had the circumstances been different, she would have taken the time to admire the way she perfectly filled out the black dress she was wearing or the way her eye makeup made her gorgeous brown eyes stand out even more, but she was emotionally and physically exhausted. “Thanks,” she mumbled before dropping her gaze to the carpet again.

“So this is where the famous Detective Harris grew up, huh?” she asked as she stepped into the room and began to look around.

Ashlyn just shrugged without looking up. “Yeah. It’s nothing special.”

“On the contrary, Detective,” she plucked a small trophy off of a shelf and read the plaque attached to it, “first place in your kindergarten spelling bee is quite special.”

A slight smile curled up Ashlyn’s lips, exposing her lone dimple. Ali just smiled back before wandering over to the bed and taking a seat next to the blonde.

“All joking aside, Ash, how are you doing?”

Ashlyn sighed and averted Ali’s gaze. “I’m Fine.” Her voice trailed off a bit. “As good as I’m going to get. That was…harder than I thought it was going to be.”

Ali instinctively wrapped her arm around her shoulder and Ashlyn let herself sink into Ali’s comforting touch. “Well you were great up there. I obviously never met your Uncle, but from that eulogy I can already tell what an amazing man he was.”

The sincerity in her voice touched Ashlyn and she knew that Ali wasn’t just trying to make her feel better. She was speaking from a place of honesty. “He was the best man I’ve ever known. The reason I’m where I am today,” she breathed out. “If it…if it weren’t for him I’d probably be dead by now.”

The confession hung in the air for a moment and caused a silence to fall over the women.

Ali wanted to know more, but knew it wasn’t her place to push the subject. Ashlyn was in a vulnerable state at the moment and if she wanted to share, she would.

“We’ll I’m here for you. Whatever you need, I’m here.”

“I know. Thank you.” She pulled back a bit to finally meet Ali’s gaze with glazed over eyes. “You have no idea how much it means to me you being here.”

Ali used her free hand to lift Ashlyn’s chin after she dropped it again. “Hey, I told you I’ll always have your six. I don’t break my promises, Harris,” she teased in an attempt to lighten the mood.

Ashlyn didn’t know what came over her, but she suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of trust. She was usually private and kept to herself, but looking into those soft brown eyes she truly felt she could tell the brunette anything. That’s when the truth began to spill out.

Ali just sat there listening intently and tried to contain her shock at some of the stories to the best of her abilities. “What!?” her eyes finally went wide, unable to control her true feelings at Ashlyn’s statement.

“I told you I got caught up in the wrong crowd after my dad died,” she shrugged it off. “I was into a lot of things I shouldn’t be and running with some bad people.”

“Where was your mom during all this?” Ali asked, feeling that they had built up enough trust that the question wasn’t off limits.

Ashlyn just shrugged and brushed a tear from her eye. “My dad had just died. After we buried him…she was…she was buried in a bottle.”

Ali couldn’t believe it, picturing a young, troubled and tormented Ashlyn compared to the tough, composed woman with strong morals that she had grown into. She quickly realized how different things could have been for her had she stayed on the path she was headed down. “Wow.”

“Yeah. I honestly…I don’t know what would have happened if he wasn’t the one that found me.”

“Was it that bad?” Ali asked, holding her breath for the answer.

“My Jeep was totaled, wrapped around a tree and just completely demolished. I had four broken ribs along with some other bones and some pretty nasty lacerations. I woke up two days later in the hospital expecting to be handcuffed to the bed.”

Ali could see her eyes darken as she recalled another painful, yet pivotal point in her life. “What happened?” She realized she had gently started rubbing her back when Ashlyn shuddered at her touch.

“He was there when I woke up. He didn’t even need to say anything though because the look he gave me was enough. He asked me if I was alright and I quickly told him I was fine because I wanted to downplay it all. Saying I was fine…that was a big mistake.”

 

_“FINE? You call having a blood alcohol content of .2 and totaling a $25,000 Jeep, fine Ashlyn? Jesus Christ what is it going to take to get through that thick skull of yours!?”_

_“Am I going to be arrested?”_

_“That’s all you can say right now? Do you have any idea how bad this could have been? You should have died in that wreck!”_

_“We’ll I’d like to know if I’ll be spending my 18th birthday in a jail cell.”_

_“You’re not being arrested, but wipe that god damn smirk off your face, Harris. You will be spending your 18th birthday doing community service and every day after that for an entire year!”_

_“You can’t make me do that!”_

_“Oh, I can’t? Just like I couldn’t take the liquor bottle and weed from your car and throw it out before anyone else arrived at the scene? Just like I couldn’t tell everyone that I was behind you when I saw the dog run across the street causing you to swerve?”_

_“What?”_

_“Yeah I risked my damn job to keep your ass out of prison so you better spend the rest of your life proving to me that I didn’t waste my time on you.”_

_“Who the hell do you think you are? YOU’RE NOT MY FATHER!”_

_“I’m well aware of that, but I promised my brother that I would do everything in my power to look after you! You think he’d be proud of the person you are right now? Huh? You honestly think that he’d look down on you with a smile right now knowing what his baby girl has gotten herself into? Drugs? Alcohol? Shoplifting? Come on, Ash, that’s not you. What’s going on?”_

_“You don’t know what the hell you’re talking about!”_

_“Maybe not. But I do know that I’m looking at a scared lonely little girl right now who’s heading down the wrong path. I know you’ve been through a lot Ashlyn, we all have, but you’re better than this. You’re so much better than this. I know it and if you won't see it yourself, then I'm going to have to show you.”_

 

“If it wasn’t for him that night, I honestly don’t know what would have happened to me.”

“You’re amazing, Ashlyn,” Ali said out loud without realizing it, but followed it with a convincing smile as she looked over at the troubled blonde. Although they had only known each other for a little over a month, she was proud of how strong her partner was and everything she had battled through to get where she was today.

“It’s only because of him,” she shrugged.

“No. No it’s not. He may have set you back down the right path, but you just became the person you were meant to be, Ash.”

“You really think that?”

“I’ve never met a more dedicated, loyal, compassionate person in my life,” she said with a sincere smile. “Minus those first few weeks,” she then teased and poked Ashlyn’s side to ease the tension, “you were kind of an ass back then.”

“Hey you weren’t exactly a charmer then either,” Ashlyn teased and quickly evaded the playful slap that followed her comment.

Ali rolled her eyes and then covered her mouth when she felt a yawn coming on. “Well, I’m going to go get ready for bed. I’m exhausted.”

“Okay. My grandma will probably make breakfast in the morning and there are towels on your dresser in the guest room if you want to take a shower in the morning,” Ashlyn replied as she stood up from the bed to get changed herself. She was still in her dress slacks, button up and suit coat from the funeral and desperately wanted to slip into something more comfortable.

“Okay great. See you tomorrow, partner,” she added with a wink before strolling out of the room.

Ashlyn watched her go with a smile on her face, truly grateful to have someone in her life that genuinely cared about her. She still had the smile plastered on her face when a voice tore her from her thoughts.

“That Ali sure is a great girl.”

“I know grandma. I know. She’s a great partner and I’m lucky to have her.”

“Partner, huh?” said the old woman with a raised eyebrow.

Ash could tell where she was going. “Yes. She’s just my partner.”

“Well that’s awful nice of her to drop everything and come here with you without even being asked,” she stated skeptically.

“And how do you know I didn’t ask her?” Ash replied in a slightly annoyed tone.

“Because I know you Ashlyn Michelle. And I know that girl cares a lot about you or she wouldn’t be here.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Ash groaned as she slipped shorts on over her boy shorts. “Nothing is going to happen between us Grandma. She’s my partner first and foremost.”

“Well, she’s a nice girl, Ashlyn. Don’t you mess it up.”

Before Ashlyn could even respond she was gone. Ash huffed and reached into her t-shirt drawer. She pulled out the first shirt she touched without looking and threw it on over her head. Turning to look at herself in the mirror, her face dropped. She reached down to grab the bottom of her shirt to stretch it out and the wave of realization hit her a second before the breakdown. She crumpled onto the bed, her tears spilling out onto the Satellite Beach Police Department t-shirt that had Harris written in all caps on the back.

Ali had come back down the hall to grab her phone charger that she left in Ashlyn’s bag. “Hey Ash can I grab…” She froze when she took in the sight before her. Ashlyn was crumpled on the bed shaking uncontrollably, lost in the noise of her own sobs. “I…uh…I can come back.” She turned to leave the room, knowing that Ashlyn would want to be left alone until she calmed down.

“No.”

She turned around, confused.

“Can you…can you please stay?”

Ali caught on to what she meant and walked into the room to sit on the end of the bed and comfort her until she calmed down.

“No…I mean…can you stay the night with me?”

“Oh.” Ali glanced down hesitantly to Ashlyn who was holding the corner of the covers up, offering her a spot underneath.

“I just…I don’t think I can be alone tonight.”

The look of pure sadness and confusion Ashlyn displayed in her beautiful hazel eyes that were brimming with tears was enough to quickly dissolve any resistance Ali had to the idea. She wasn’t sure what she meant by it, but she kept finding it harder and harder to deny the beautiful blonde anything. “Of course I can. Scoot over.”

Ashlyn moved over on the bed, allowing Ali to slip in behind her. The moment Ali wrapped her arms around Ashlyn and pressed her chest flesh against the blonde’s back, they both had to fight back the fire that rippled through their bodies. For the first time in a long time, things finally felt right. Ashlyn let her body melt into Ali’s warm embrace and felt secure under her touch. For a brief moment she thought she could feel the unmistakable touch of Ali’s lips to her exposed shoulder, but the feeling was gone as fast as it had appeared. She didn’t care though. She had had a terrible few days, but all she could think about now was the warm sensation she felt all over now that she was wrapped up in the arms of her favorite brunette.


	15. Good Cop, Bad Cop

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I didn't get a chance to post yesterday!! Hope you enjoy!

“You sure you’re okay, Harris?”

Ashlyn nodded confidently and looked her Lieutenant directly in the eye. “Yes, sir. I paid my respects and I’m ready to get back to work.”

“Alright then. I just wanted to let you know I’m proud of you, Harris.”

With widened eyes she responded, “Sir?”

“I know you didn’t want a new partner, but whatever the issues were it seems like you and Officer Krieger worked them out.”

He glanced back at her knowingly which made Ash a bit uncomfortable. She didn’t want him thinking anything was going on between them, even if it’s all she could think about. “Yeah, I mean she’s actually been great to work with and a good friend through everything with my Uncle.”

“Ah I see. Well keep up the good work. You two make quite the team,” he added with a warm smile that made Ashlyn’s insides reel.

“You got it,” she replied with her own smile to cut the tension she was feeling. After standing from the chair she made her way over to the door and quickly exited the office with a relieved sigh.

She wandered back to her desk and had begun to address some of the piled up paperwork when she felt her phone buzzing in her pocket. The name made her heart skip a beat and she quickly picked it up. “This is Harris…yeah okay…be there in fifteen.”

She set the phone on her desk and leaned back in her chair to peek around her cubicle wall. “Krieger, we’re heading out!”

Not a minute later her favorite smiling face was standing by her desk, hand on her hip with an impatient stare. “I’m ready, why aren’t you?”

“Sorry Princess, I’m busy doing all this paperwork since you know…I’m the Detective here.” She finished with a wink that received an eye roll from the brunette.

As Ashlyn grabbed her coat and began to brush past her, Ali put a hand to her chest to stop her. No one was around and she leaned in to whisper, “Well if I’m the Princess that does mean you have to do all the work.” She patted her chest lightly with a wink before turning and strutting out to the parking lot.

When Ashlyn retrieved her jaw from the floor she quickly followed behind her feisty partner, still in shock at what she had said. Nothing physical had happened between them in Florida, but on the emotional and mental side of things, their relationship had flown to the next level. Ever since dropping Ali off at her apartment when they got back the night before, Ashlyn couldn’t rid her thoughts of the stunning woman. It was tormenting trying to sort through her feelings. She loved being around her and things were so easy and comfortable between them and while there was obvious attraction and never ending flirting, they were partners and Ashlyn didn’t want to do anything to jeopardize either of their careers.

Ali was already in the car waiting when Ashlyn made it out to the lot. She slid into the driver’s seat and fired up the engine before pulling out.

“So where to, Harris?”

“We’re going to meet your favorite C.I. again,” Ashlyn stated with a wide grin, remembering how things had ended last time.

Ali huffed and sat back roughly in her seat with her arms crossed over her chest. “I hate that asshole,” she sighed. “I can’t believe they let him off with just a slap on the wrist.”

Ashlyn laughed, “Well as hot as it was watching you slam him up against the house and show him who’s boss, just try to take it easy on him today, okay?”

Ali hummed an okay before she fully processed her partner’s statement. “Hot? You thought it was hot?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.

Ashlyn wanted to kick herself and hadn't even realized she said it out loud until she saw the amused grin Ali was sporting. She innocently shrugged her shoulders, “I mean yeah I guess.”

After doing the math in her head Ali turned back to her with an even wider grin. “If I seem to recall the timing of that correctly, that’s when you still hated me.”

“So?” Ashlyn answered innocuously.

“So is that always how you talk to all girls you think are hot?” Ali pressed.

“I don’t do much talking with girls that I think are that hot,” she answered with a wink.

Ali scoffed at her cocky smirk and playfully smacked her. “Damn why don’t I get that treatment?” she teased, not realizing the words that spilled out until it was too late and Ashlyn’s eyes had gone wide with shock. She saw something in them that she hadn’t seen before. She couldn’t tell if it was shock, longing or desire, but it made her quickly backtrack. “I…uh…I mean…you know what I mean.”

“Mhmm,” Ashlyn hummed and let her off the hook for the time being. Truth was, she wanted nothing more than to give Ali that treatment.

A comfortable silence fell over the car for the rest of the ride. Ali stared aimlessly out the window thinking back on her words and Ashlyn’s reaction. She knew Ashlyn flirted shamelessly with her and she eagerly returned the favor, but other than the night she held Ashlyn in her bed after the funeral, nothing more than talk had happened. She couldn’t deny that her thoughts would often wander off and she would image the blonde pressed against her body again, only this time there wouldn’t be a barrier of sadness between them. As much as she wanted it, she knew Ashlyn would never let it happen. She would always catch the blonde staring at her out of the corner of her eyes or pick up on the little chivalrous things she did for her, but there was still a line she would cross. Ali knew Ashlyn cared too much about the force and both of their jobs to ever do something to jeopardize it and as much as the idea of ripping her clothes off consumed her thoughts, she didn’t know if there was anything more than lust. Sure they were friends and had grown close, but that’s how partners always were, right? The thoughts were quickly dissolved from her mind when they pulled into an alley between two abandoned buildings.

“So what’s this little meeting about?” Ali asked before stepping out of the car when she saw Otto leaning up against the building.

“He’s got information on the Mendez case,” Ashlyn replied plainly.

“The Mendez case?” Ali paused and stopped walking, placing a hand on the car while Ashlyn turned around and shot her a warning glare.

“Yes. The Mendez case. Is that a problem?”

Ali shook her head and decided not to push the subject anymore. “Nope.” She fell in line behind Ashlyn as they walked up to the grinning man who was pulling on a cigarette.

“Smoking is bad for you,” Ash stated.

“So is drinking a bottle a day and smoking crack, but that doesn’t stop me,” he shrugged before flicking the cigarette butt to the ground and giving Ali the once over. “Is your pretty little partner going to arrest me today?” he asked with a sneer. “Because I don’t feel like talking if it’s going to end with me in cuffs.”

“She’s fine. Now tell me what you know.”

The man tore his eyes from Ali’s chest to meet the Detective’s gaze when he heard her clear her throat. “There’s a shipment coming in.”

“When?”

“Next Monday,” he stated. “Some big guns are bringing it in and Mendez is the buyer.”

“Where’s the drop?” Ashlyn was writing a few things down on a pad of paper she pulled from her pocket

The man put his hand up to stop her. “Not so fast. What do I get out of this?”

Ashlyn gritted her teeth, clearly annoyed as Ali just watched the interaction. “Where’s the drop,” she repeated and ignored his question.

“Ah ah ah, Detective,” he said while he wagged a finger in her face.

Ali could see Ashlyn’s hands clench into fists, her knuckles turning white and her jaw pulsing from being clenched too tightly. After a few months on the job, she knew the signs too well and quickly stepped in. She extended her hand out and placed it softly on Ashlyn’s chest. It was meant to appear she was holding her back, but Ashlyn found more comfort in it than anything as she took a deep breath and stepped back.

Ali took this as her signal and closed the gap between herself and the CI. “Hey. Remember me? Yeah, hi.” She plastered on a sweet smile, but her tone was anything but. “Now I don’t know if you have bad hearing or something, but my partner just asked you a question.”

The man sneered and crossed his arms over his chest. “Yeah I heard, sweetheart. But she didn’t answer my question, so…”

Ali laughed, and Ashlyn had to look away to hide her smile at the way Ali was playing this situation.

“Oh I’m sorry. Do you not know how this works? See we ask the questions and you answer them. That’s why your pathetic ass isn’t in jail, right?” She looked back at Ashlyn for backup and Ashlyn quickly nodded and mumbled her agreement.

“Well it looks like things are going to change because I’m the one with the information and power baby girl.” He winked in such a creepy way that it sent repulsive shivers down Ali’s spine. “So what am I going to get out of this?”

The way he looked her up and down in such a predatory manner, lingering his eyes on certain areas, made Ashlyn want to jump in and punch him straight in the gut. She knew that wasn’t the way to approach it though and that if she started with him, she likely wouldn’t be able to stop so she rocked back on her heels and let her partner handle the situation.

Feeding on her own growing anger towards the man, she shook it off and smiled even bigger. “Oh. Well here’s what I think you can get out of this if you tell me where the drop is...”

He leaned forward intently to await the brunette’s offerings.

She stepped forward and roughly grabbed the front of his jacket, twisting it in her fist to give herself leverage over him. “I think you can get out of here without me smashing your face into this wall again like last time.” His face dropped, unprepared for the sweet brunette to suddenly turn so aggressive. “Yeah. Remember that? You didn’t seem to like that too much so why don’t you spare us the time and yourself the pain and tell us what we came here for,” she spewed through gritted teeth.

Ashlyn thought the glare she was shooting him might tear through his skin and she was completely turned on by the whole scene.

“Alright,” he grumbled, not wanting to walk around with a black eye and brush burned face for another week. “Alright it’s at the pier. 9pm. That’s all I got,” he sneered back at her, his eyes hot with anger.

Ali turned back at Ashlyn who nodded that they had what they needed. Ali released her grip on his coat and gently smoothed it out with both hands, returning once again to her overly sweet state. “Well thank you for being so cooperative. I’ll keep that in mind next time we come around and maybe I’ll bring you a little something for your trouble.”

She patted his chest and then turned on her heels without another word to head back towards the car. Ashlyn just shrugged at their stunned C.I. before quickly following after her.


	16. Trust

Back inside the car, they quietly watched Otto slink into his car and drive away. They sat there for a few more minutes in silence, each sifting through their own thoughts. 

Finally, Ali broke the quiet and lifted her gaze to meet her partner’s. “Mendez is the guy who shot Walker, right?”

“Yeah. I saw him do it, but one of his thugs confessed and took the fall for him. Since I got shot and was in and out of it, they said my testimony wouldn’t hold up in court. Better to get one guy off the street than none, was their reasoning.” Ashlyn answered blankly as she thought back to the night it all went down. 

“Are you sure you can handle this case?” Ali knew she was walking a thin line, but seeing the red in Ashlyn’s eyes and the white of her knuckles when Otto was toying with her, she could tell that she was on the brink of snapping. And if she got like that with an informant who was supposedly on their side, how would she react if she came face to face with the man who shot her best friend?

“I’ll be fine. I promise.” Ashlyn mustered up all the confidence she could to put behind her statement. It was meant to convince her concerned partner, but she was more so trying to convince herself. She knew if Ali hadn't stepped in with Otto, she very well may have done something she would regret.

“Okay,” Ali hummed in acceptance.

Ashlyn had expected her to fight back and not take her at her word. She expected the brunette to push her and try to crack through the shell of lies that surrounded her intentions. When she so easily obliged, Ash was caught off guard. She looked up to meet Ali’s unwavering gaze with a skeptical one of her own.

“What?” Ali shrugged and tried to decipher this new look Ashlyn was throwing her way. “I trust you, Ash. After everything we’ve been through…I trust you.”

There it was. The quintessential word that often meant life or death for officers; trust. You needed to have it. You needed to trust yourself and more importantly trust your partner. Seeing the sincerity in Ali’s eyes almost made Ashlyn’s water, because she realized she trusted the brunette too, with everything, and it had been a long time since she had that with anyone. All of the emotions were swirling through her thoughts; Walker’s death, being reinstated to the Narcotics Unit, her Uncle’s funeral, finally nailing Mendez with what he deserved. But woven through the thoughts was so much more; Ali’s bruised ribs from when she saved her life, her soft and reassuring smile when she was giving the eulogy in front of a Church full of people, the warm touch of Ali holding her and rocking her to sleep after the funeral, and the trace of a kiss she left on her shoulder when she was soothing her. Somehow all of her thoughts, good and bad had become tied to the brunette like she was imprinted in her memories. Her mind was foggy and in a moment of chaos she quickly closed the gap between them, planting her lips softly against the unsuspecting brunette’s. 

At first, Ali wasn’t reciprocating and Ashlyn hastily began to pull away, knowing that she had crossed an unspoken line. She stopped retreating though when she felt soft hands on her cheeks pulling her back in and a tongue begging for access. She obliged as she felt her senses come alive and mentally patted herself on the back for not having buckled her seat belt yet when she easily leaned forward further, pressing Ali flush against her seat as hands tangled through her blonde hair to pull her in deeper and add more fire to the kiss.

“Attention car 1124. Come in 1124.”

Ali quickly pushed Ashlyn back with a hand on her chest when dispatch came over their car radio. They locked eyes as their chests rose and fell in unison and tried to catch their breath as well as their thoughts that were quickly scattering everywhere.

Trying to retain some normalcy, Ashlyn grabbed the radio from the dashboard to respond. “This is 1124. Harris speaking.”

“We need backup at 5th and 47th.”

“Copy. We’re not far out. Enroute now.”

She pulled out onto the road and headed towards their destination while casting sideways glances over at Ali. The third time she glanced over, she caught her biting her bottom lip and looking back at her with a hint of mischievousness in her eyes. After having a moment to clear her head, Ashlyn met her gaze at a stoplight. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.”

“I don’t know if you could tell, but I wasn’t complaining,” Ali shrugged with a coy smirk that easily sent shivers down Ashlyn’s spine.

“Krieger…”

She could pick up on Ashlyn’s hesitation and didn’t want to push it. The truth was, she wasn’t even sure what she wanted at the moment. She had grown extremely close with Ashlyn, but that was normal for two people who worked so closely together. “I know, I know. We’re partners, right?”

“Yeah I mean…That can’t happen again. I wouldn’t want it to affect our work…” She knew other people that had hooked up with their partners before and it never ended well. It was better to end it now than to let it go farther. She was trying to spare them the hurt and awkwardness.

“Agreed. There’s no way we could ever date,” Ali managed with a light chuckle. 

“Date?” Ashlyn’s jaw dropped a bit as the light turned green. She kept her eyes trained on the road thankful for an excuse to not meet Ali’s gaze. 

“Yeah, what did you mea- Oh…” She quickly realized that Ashlyn was only referring to them hooking up, and hadn’t considered anything more than that. She couldn’t hide the blush the fell over her cheeks. She was just another girl on the growing list.

Ashlyn could see how quickly her expression fell and even though she tried to hide her face by turning to look out the window, she could see the hint of embarrassment on her cheeks. “Al, that’s not what I meant.” The brunette still didn’t turn back so Ash placed a comforting hand on her thigh. Instantly she regretted it when she felt her strong legs hitch at the touch and her own desires flaring up again as well, but kept it there in an attempt to fight off the awkwardness. “I’m just…I’m saying that nothing more can happen. No matter what we feel, we can’t act on it, okay?” It took all the willpower she possessed to say it because she wanted nothing more than to throw the car in park and see where things could really go.

The last statement piqued Ali’s interest a bit and she looked back at Ashlyn through her long eyelashes. “Do you?”

“Do I what?” Ashlyn asked with a tone of confusion while she kept her eyes locked on the road.

“Do you feel something?” she asked pointedly as if it was easy to answer.

It was a loaded question and they both knew it. On one hand Ashlyn wanted nothing more than to confess her feelings, whatever they may be, but on the other she knew that they were walking a very thin, delicate line that would most likely spell disaster. “It doesn’t matter,” she quickly answered, trying to get herself out of it the easy way.

“It does matter.”

Ashlyn was beginning to get really hot and she could feel the anxiety slowly spreading through her body. She was scared of so many things. She was scared of getting hurt again. She was scared of ever being in a relationship, for fear that her heart would be broken again. She was scared of losing someone she cared about, of letting someone in again, of being abandoned again. The thing she was most scared of though, was that she thought Ali might actually be the one worth risking it all for again. That last thought absolutely terrified her. She could feel her palms getting sweaty and reached to turn up the air conditioning in the car. “That should have never happened back there, Krieger. It was a mistake and I’m sorry.” 

The finality and bitterness in voice reverberated through to Ali’s core, casting a hurt look onto her face. She could see in Ashlyn’s darkened eyes that she was lying, fighting the feelings that were bubbling to the surface. There was no way Ali could just let it go, it wasn’t her nature. “But…”

“We’re here,” Ashlyn cut her off before she got out of the car and then slammed the door shut behind her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What'd ya'll think? Things are heating up now ;)


	17. Mixed Emotions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for all the comments! Glad you guys are enjoying and nowww for some anticipated angst...

“Alright everyone listen up!” Ashlyn stood up at the front of the room and commanded everyone’s attention.

The men, and few women, in the room tore themselves from their conversations to give the Detective the respect she deserved. Ash surveyed the room and when she decided that she had their attention, she continued on. “So according to Otto, there’s a drop Monday at 9pm at the pier. Mendez is the buyer and we all know he likes to be there for show, although him and his crew will be heavily armed. I picked this group of people,” she nodded to the ten members of the department sitting before her, “because I trust all of you and know that you’re the best of the best and I know that with your help we’re going to nail this guy once and for all.”

The other members of the task force nodded their heads, proud that Ashlyn thought high enough of them to include them on what could possibly be the biggest bust of the year. Ali stood next to her at the front of the room, leaning against the chalkboard as she watched Ashlyn go over the details. She couldn’t help but think how hot she looked leading the charge, but tried her hardest to shake the memory of their heated kiss from her mind. It had been a few days and Ashlyn was acting like absolutely nothing had happened and she decided if it was that easy for the blonde to get over it, she needed to do the same. She was just thankful she hadn’t become another girl on Ashlyn’s list and that it stopped before she got too far in.

“Krieger want to go over the drop location scouting a little more?”

Ashlyn’s prompt pulled her from her thoughts. “Uhh…huh?” she looked up and immediately felt stupid as a few chuckles filled the room and she realized she was too busy staring at the blonde’s tattooed biceps to focus on anything she had been saying. 

Amidst the chuckles, Ashlyn tried to stifle her own smirk, knowing Ali’s look all too well. “Umm…yeah.” She stood up from her leaning position and uncrossed her arms, secretly thankful that she hadn't actually started drooling. “Detective Harris and I are going to be scouting the pier tonight for any activity. A lot of Mendez’s drops get a little messy so we want to make sure we know what we’re getting into. We’d like at least two more people to stake it out with us and watch for activity and another two at Mendez’s house to see if he gets any visitors. The two of us can’t cover everything.”

A few hands shot in the air and Ali looked to Ash to choose who she wanted. After picking two volunteers, Brody and Rodgers as well as two older Detectives, she called the meeting to and end and instructed everyone to meet at noon in the same location on Monday for the final briefing. “Ready, Krieger? We’ve got a long night ahead of us.”

Ali reluctantly nodded as they walked out of the Conference Room and headed to their desks. The last thing she wanted to do was sit in a car with Ashlyn for hours after the awkwardness had settled between them. “Ready when you are,” she grumbled as she grabbed her jacket from the back of her chair.

“Aw cheer up,” Ashlyn offered with a smile. “I’m not the worsttt person to get stuck in a car with, am I?” She was trying to tease and lighten the mood, but all it did was force both women’s memories back to when Ashlyn had kissed her in the car.

“I guess not,” she conceded in hopes of finding some civility again. Even though she was enraged that Ashlyn had initiated the kiss and then swept it under the rug, she missed her partner and more importantly her best friend.

They made their way out to the car and tried to ignore the uncomfortable silence during their drive to the pier. When they got there and pulled into a secluded section which gave them a good view of the entrance and watched as a few minutes later Brody and Rodgers pulled in and parked closer to the exit. After almost an hour of excruciating silence, where the only sound was their breathing and the gentle hum of the radio, Ashlyn finally spoke.

“Soooo…” She looked to Ali who just shot her a glare through narrowed eyes and ignored her prompt. “So…how are things? I feel like we really haven’t talked the last few days.”

Ali huffed and crossed her arms. “Oh so now you want to talk?” she challenged as Ashlyn shifted uncomfortably in her seat, knowing it was about to get real.

“What do you mean?” she feigned innocence and tried to muster a face that backed up her words.

“You’re impossible, Harris!”

“What did I do?” she knew exactly what she did, but what she didn’t know was how to calm the enraged brunette sitting across from her, that she was stuck in a car with for the next several hours.

“First, you kissed me, breaking whatever thin, almost non-existent line we had created between partners and…well more than partners. Then you told me it was a mistake and it meant nothing when I KNOW you’re lying and have more to say. And now you’re just acting like nothing happened and you’re icing me out! Are you that oblivious?”

Ashlyn felt bad. She knew she had upset her partner, but really was just trying to process everything that had happened. She definitely had feelings for the feisty brunette, but she was terrified of getting hurt again. She was more terrified of hurting Ali though, someone who had been there through thick and thin with her the last few months. Looking at the hurt in her eyes, almost made Ashlyn break her promise to herself to let it go. “Al…I’m sorry. You know I care about you a lot, but we can’t go down that road and you know it.”

“Why not?” Ali knew why, but she wanted to hear Ashlyn say it.

“First of all, we could both lose our jobs. Or one of us could get transferred. I don’t…I don’t want to lose you.”

The words, were not at all what Ali expected. She expected to hear the story about Ashlyn not being able to be in a relationship or that she really didn’t feel anything. But what Ashlyn had confessed was that she cared _too much_ about her to mess anything up. It was sweet, but still not what she wanted to hear. “I’m not going anywhere, Ash. I care about you too and I just…I can’t stop thinking about that kiss and how I want to do it again. Over and over and over again, and maybe not just on your lips…”

The words hung heavy in the air and Ashlyn could hear her heart begin to race as she saw Ali’s eyes drop down to her lips and her chest rise and fall a bit more sporadically. She knew they both wanted the same thing, but she had to save them from themselves.

Thankfully, the chatter over the radio broke them from their trance. “Car 1124, come in. Come in 1124.”

Ashlyn shifted her gaze from the stunning brunette to the radio which she yanked from the dashboard. “What the hell do you want, Rodgers? Don’t you have something to be doing?” she joked through the radio.

“Just wanted to see how you two ladies are doing,” he responded with a laugh. “We’re bored!”

“We’re doing fine,” Ash responded with a chuckle, glad that their serious conversation had been broken up by the boys. “Anything going on out there?” She turned the focus back to work, not letting herself get distracted from what she wanted the most, and that was to see Mendez behind bars.

“Nada, boss. Haven’t seen so much as a duck moving out here.”

“A duck, really?” now it was Ali who took the radio and jokingly chastised the men with a laugh of her own.

“Is that my favorite lady, Officer Krieger?” he teased in return.

“Hey I thought I was your favorite!” Ashlyn feigned being upset, glad that things seemed somewhat normal and Ali was able to joke around again. She couldn't help but notice the smile that crept over her face seeing her partner finally smile around her again.

“Nah you’ve been replaced, Harris!”

Ashlyn shook her head when Ali looked over at her and stuck her tongue out with a subtly smug look. “This is bullshit! Get your own, she’s mine!”

Ashlyn was joking, but the words settled into Ali’s mind as a small smile crept across her face. Ashlyn noticed and a smile of her own appeared when she saw the brunette a little more at ease.

“Oh please, Harris! You say that about all the girls!”

Both smiles immediately fell from the women’s faces. Ali dropped her gaze and turned to look out the window, essentially turning her back to her partner.

Now Brody chimed in, “Yeah that’s what you were saying about that Alex chick the other week! You know she was at the bar looking for you Tuesday night right? She said you texted her that you wanted to meet up. Don’t worry though, I told her you weren’t feeling well, but would be back with us tonight so you can still get some if you text her! I’m still your number one wingman,” he added with a chuckle.

Ashlyn didn’t have time to cover for herself because Ali was already out of the car and slamming the door behind her. That was the exact opposite of what she wanted to hear. Ashlyn was making plans to see other woman, and not just anyone, the sleazy woman that just thought she was hot because she was a cop and not just any night, the same night that she had kissed Ali. Did it really mean that little to her that she could so easily make plans to see another woman? She stumbled away from the car trying to catch her breath. It felt like her lungs were closing and screaming for air. Everything seemed to be spiraling away and she just needed fresh air and some space. She thought she could handle just being Ashlyn's partner, but never thought it would be this hard.

Ashlyn hurried after her partner feeling awful at what she had just overheard. It was nothing but the truth, but there was so much more to it than meets the eye. She had been trying to convince herself that she didn’t have feelings for Ali, but she had failed miserably. She stopped in her tracks when she finally found her. She was sitting against a stack of wooden crates, her arms wrapped around her legs which were hugged tight to her chest. Tears were spilling down her cheeks and her shoulders were shaking from the soft sobs that escaped her. It broke Ashlyn’s heart to see her like that. She was torn and conflicted, but knew she cared more about the brunette than she could have ever imagined.

“Krieger…” she broke the silence with a whisper. “Al, you have to come back to the car.”

“I’ll be back in a minute,” she said coldly and wiped her tears with the sleeve of her jacket. “Just leave me alone, please.” As upset as Ali was, she was also embarrassed. She knew what she was doing was extremely unprofessional, the exact reason Ashlyn didn’t want to pursue anything with her. Or so she thought. Really Ashlyn just didn’t want a relationship with anyone. She just wanted to have “fun”.

After scoping out the area the best she could in the dark, Ashlyn knew Ali would be fine if she left her for a few minutes. “Okay. Please don’t take too long though. I’ll be in the car.” She turned and began to walk back to the car. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered to herself.

Unfortunately, Ali’s ears caught the words as the wind blew in her direction. “What are you sorry for?”

The question caught Ashlyn off guard and she froze in her spot. Her heart and mind were battling for the correct answer to the question, but her heart won out. She couldn’t stand to see Ali so upset so she turned and walked over to where she sat before squatting down to get on her level. “I’m sorry if I hurt you.” With her right hand she wiped a few pieces of hair out of Ali’s face and then lifted her chin to meet her gaze. “I never meant for this to happen, Ali. I care a lot about you. I’m sorry.”

The apology was sincere, but Ali still didn’t have all the answers she needed. “Did you invite that girl to the bar that night after you kissed me?”

Ashlyn couldn’t lie, not to her Ali. Not when they had spent so long finally building up trust. She nodded and watched a few more tears roll down Ali’s rosy cheeks at her response.

“Well why didn’t you go then?”

Ashlyn dropped her gaze and shrugged. “I…I don’t know.”

She could see something in Ashlyn's eyes. Something along the lines of regret and guilt. She knew exactly why Ashlyn had texted the other woman and exactly why she didn’t go through with it. After two months she could read her partner like a book. But if Ashlyn couldn’t bring herself to be honest with Ali, then she wasn’t going to waste her time. “Well at least you’ll get another shot with her tonight,” Ali added with a shrug as she stood up and pushed past Ashlyn to head towards the car.

“Ali, wait!”

Ali didn’t turn around though. She was too pissed off and simply plopped in the passenger seat of the car and pulled the door shut behind her. She knew that Ashlyn was scared, but she couldn’t deal with the back and forth. Ash wasn’t the only one who had had her last relationship end it heartbreak. Ali had been played before and this time, she needed someone that was all in. She was sick of watching the women she loved kissing other people. Ashlyn needed to make a decision quick, before the brunette made it for her.


	18. You Want a Challenge?

Ali was fuming. After their kiss, Ashlyn had basically ignored her for three days and kept shutting her out. If it wasn’t work related, she refused to engage the conversation, which had infuriated Ali to no end. She thought they were finally getting somewhere and knew that the blonde had more to say but for some reason was holding back. Even though she had tried to get to the bottom of Ash’s feelings, her partner was stubborn and simply shrugged her off saying that it was nothing so there was nothing to talk about. Hearing about her trying to meet up with the other Alex didn’t make her feel great either. Ali was smart though and knew better. She knew Ashlyn felt something between them and was willing and outright trying to convince herself not to act on it. She also knew that her partner loved a challenge and could never back down from one. Ali smiled devilishly as she sent the text. If that’s what she wanted, then a challenge was exactly what she was going to give her.

Ashlyn was already a few beers in when she saw a familiar brunette enter the bar. She couldn’t help the way her face instantly lit up when she walked in, but quickly dropped her gaze so she wouldn’t give herself away. She was trying her best to be good, to do what was best for the both of them, but when Ali got closer and she saw what she was wearing her resolve was quickly depleted.

“Hey,” Ali quickly said to Ash before turning to greet the guys that were huddled around the pool table.

When Ali turned to talk to the guys, Ash took the opportunity to admire the tight little black dress she was wearing and the way it hung perfectly in all the right places. Her eyes made their way down her fine, toned legs to her black heels. She gulped as her eyes made their way back up and quickly finished her drink. She was definitely going to need alcohol pumping through her system to survive the night with Ali looking as fine as she did.

When the guys turned back to their game of pool, Ali turned around to face Ashlyn again. She noticed that her eyes were farther down than they should be, but decided not to mention it. No, she wanted Ashlyn to think she was in the driver’s seat. “You going to buy me a drink?” she asked pointedly, stifling a laugh when Ashlyn jerked her eyes up and realized she had been caught staring.

“Uh yeah…um…what do you want?” She knew she had been caught staring, but more so she was surprised Ali was talking to her after she had shut her out all day.

“Beers fine,” she said with a shrug. “I’m easy.” She smirked when Ashlyn’s cheeks flushed a bit at her statement turned sexual innuendo.

“Right. You are…I mean…” she stammered. She was completely caught off guard that Ali’s demeanor had changed so quickly from their argument earlier at the pier and the way her black dress left little to the imagination was not helping either. Ashlyn Harris was flustered.

Ali raised an eyebrow, “You alright there? I hope you’re not still weirded out about what happened earlier this week in the car. It was nothing, remember?”

Ashlyn looked confused, but nodded. “Yeah…Right.” She quickly turned back to the bar to wait for Ali’s drink and to try to compose herself. _If Ali is playing hard to get, it’s working_ , she thought to herself.

Ali smiled internally knowing she had the blonde exactly where she wanted her.

After a moment she turned around from the bar and handed the brunette a drink. “Here you go, princess.”

Ali could tell from her smirk that she was getting her confidence back and just rolled her eyes. “Thanks,” she mumbled before tipping the bottle up on end and draining its contents. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and looked back at Ash whose eyes were wide. “What?” she asked with a shrug. “I’ve got to catch up, right?”

Ashlyn just nodded and signaled for the bartender to bring over another round as she polished off her own bottle and slid it onto the bar. “Soo…”

Ali just looked at her blankly, waiting for something more.

The silence was unbearable so Ashlyn thought quickly. “Want to play some darts?” she asked and pointed to the open board where a group of people had just finished up.

“Oh I can’t,” she replied as her eyes searched the space behind the blonde.

“Not any good?”

“Oh no I’m great at darts actually,” Ali shrugged, still not making eye contact.

“Sureee. I bet you’re just scared to play me,” Ashlyn teased. She had gained some of her confidence back after noticing how low cut Ali’s dress was and deciding the brunette had worn it to tease her. “I promise I won’t beat up on you too bad,” she added with a wink.

“As much as I’d love to wipe that smirk off your face, I can’t.”

“And why’s that?” Ashlyn inquired, confused as to why Ali wouldn’t make eye contact.

“Cuz my date just got here!” Ali quipped before pushing past Ashlyn and waving to a woman who made her way through the crowd.

One thing was for sure, Ali had unknowingly wiped the smirk right off of Ashlyn’s face, but this time it was a result of her words, not her dart playing skills.

For the next few hours, Ashlyn pretended to be indulged in playing darts and pool and drinking with the guys, but her eyes rarely left the brunette, even though the image of her flirting with the other woman was torturing her. Maybe Ali wasn’t playing hard to get, maybe she really just wasn’t interested. Ashlyn was totally confused as she sipped on another beer and tried to analyze the mixed signals she was getting.

“So how are things with that Mendez case? I heard you guys got some more information on him.” Brody’s voice entered Ashlyn’s mind, but she still didn’t avert her gaze.

“Uh yeah we did. He’s a buyer in a drop next week,” she replied flatly.

“Finally going to nail him?”

“Damn right we are,” she replied, still with little emotion considering the subject.

“When’s the drop?”

“Huh?” she heard him talking, but really wasn’t paying attention since the other woman leaned in and placed her hand on Ali’s knee.

“The drop…when is it?” When he didn’t get an answer, he looked closer and could tell that she was in her own little world. “What’s going in that head of yours, Harris?” asked Brody as he nudged her gently with an elbow.

She tore her eyes away from where Ali and the other brunette were cozied up at the bar, “Uhh what?”

Brody followed where her gaze had been lying and a wide grin crossed his face. “Ohhhh now I see what’s going on,” he nodded, still grinning. “She is a hottie, Ash.”

“Whatever you’re thinking, you’re wrong,” she grumbled and angrily sipped on her beer.

“What? Ashlyn Harris isn’t used to a girl rejecting her?” he teased. “Oh wait…I forgot that you’re actually not. She the first one to turn down that Harris charm?” he asked and used his bottle to point across the bar to Ali.

“I don’t want to hear it, Brody. And no she didn’t reject me.”

“Well then who’s that girl that’s wrapped around her?” he asked pointedly.

“It doesn’t matter, Brody. We’re partners and it’s not going to happen.”

Her shoulders slumped a bit as she turned her back to the women and Brody’s teasing smile fell as well. “Ohhh. Wow. You actually have feelings for her, don’t you?”

Ashlyn shook her head and tried to hide her true feelings, but Brody wasn’t buying it.

“Have you told her?”

“Told her what, Brody?”

“That you have feelings for her,” he stated as if it was obvious before taking a seat on the bar stool next to her.

“There’s nothing to tell.”

“Because you think she doesn’t feel the same? I don’t think that’s the case seeing as she flew across the country to go with you to your Uncle’s funeral. She cares about you too.”

Ashlyn let the words sink in and she knew they were true, that the brunette draped around Ali on the other side of the bar wasn’t of any real consequence, but still she knew it could never happen. “There’s nothing to tell because nothing can ever happen. We’re partners, Brody. You and I both know this doesn’t end well.”

Brody took in the blonde’s poor posture and knew that she was really struggling with it. He also knew she had a rough past and needed someone like Ali in her life. “Ash, I know it’s complicated, but you deserve someone like her. You deserve someone that drops everything to be by your side like she did. After Jenna and everything that happened I know you’re scared, but she doesn’t seem like she’s the running type. Am I right?” he gave her a playful elbow. “I’m not saying you two have to get married and have babies right away, but why not give it a chance? I know you’re both professional enough that you wouldn’t let something like that affect your work.”

His words were sincere, but more than that, they were true.

“I don’t know man,” she shrugged and nervously played with the label on her bottle. She cast her eyes up across the bar just in time to see the brunette lean in and run her hand up Ali’s leg, before quickly dropping them again. “She seems a little busy right now,” she added with a dejected mumble.

“That never stopped the Ashlyn Harris I know,” Brody challenged.

Ashlyn looked up at him and managed a smirk herself as she thought back to all the nights he was referencing. “Trueee,” she said as she threw her gaze across the bar again to the brunette that had her so captivated.

“One hundred bucks says you can’t get her to go home with you tonight,” he stated and slapped a hundred dollar bill on the bar.

Ashlyn’s eyes went wide at his challenge and at the realization that he had heard about the bet she made with Velasquez. She met his gaze with a determined one of her own and slapped her own hundred down. “Make it two hundred that she comes home with me,” she said with a smirk.

“There’s my girl!” Brody laughed. “Go get her,” he said and gently pushed her out of her chair. “It’ll be well worth losing a hundred bucks to see you happy again,” he chided, but the sincerity was evident.

When Ali looked up, she knew her plan had worked. She could tell by the dark, determined look in Ashlyn’s eyes as she walked around the bar, not breaking eye contact. Still, she wanted to toy with her some more so she leaned in and whispered something in her date’s ear that sent the girl into a fit of laughter and then scooter closer to her. She knew she was daring Ashlyn, but wanted to see how she played it. She expected her to try and be smooth and work her way into the conversation, what she didn’t expect was exactly what Ashlyn did.

“Oh hey baby,” she said cutely as she wrapped her arm around Ali and placed a kiss on her cheek. “My headache felt better so I decided to surprise you and come out tonight!” She mustered up as much perkiness in her voice as she could and smiled internally at the way Ali’s cheeks immediately turned a bright red when she realized the stunt that was being pulled. “Who’s your friend here?” she asked and tipped her head to the other brunette, still feigning innocence.

The other woman shot daggers at Ali as she tried to get a read on the situation. “I’m Tracy,” the woman answered when Ali couldn’t seem to find her words. “And you are?”

“I’m Ashlyn, Ali’s girlfriend,” she replied with a smile, ignoring the woman’s attitude, and extended her hand to shake the other woman’s whose face had gone wide with shock. Then she looked down at Ali who was still bright red and boiling with anger. “Baby, you’ve never mentioned a Tracy before.” She nuzzled a kiss into Ali’s exposed neck. “Is she someone from work?”

The other woman had had her fill and was similarly embarrassed at becoming “the other woman”. She grabbed her purse from the back of the barstool and quickly got up from her seat. “I’ve actually got to get going. It was…nice meeting you. Goodbye, Ali,” she added with a strong tone of finality before storming out of the bar.

Ashlyn was grinning like a fool until she felt the stinging sensation of Ali’s slap across her face.

“What THE FUCK, was that, Harris?” Ali was fuming. She knew Ashlyn loved challenges, but she hadn't expected her to embarrass her so badly and make her out to be a cheating girlfriend. Tracy was definitely never going to speak to her again and to be honest, she was actually enjoying her company.

Ashlyn just shrugged, stumbling to find her words. This was definitely not how she had expected her shenanigans to end. Sure it had gotten rid of her obstacle, but now a new one had presented itself and that was in the form of an extremely pissed of Alexandra Krieger.

“You think after everything that happened this week you can just come over here and act like that?”

“I thought that was nothing,” Ashlyn challenged back, finally finding her words and remembering Ali’s statement from earlier at the bar.

“Are you serious right now, Ashlyn? You had no right to do what you just did! I can’t even put into words how mad I am right now,” she huffed, her eyes red with anger as she stared daggers back at the shocked blonde.

“I don’t think you needed words to do that anyways,” Ashlyn retorted and rubbed her slightly red cheek. Luckily the few beers she drank earlier had mostly numbed the stinging sensation.

“Yeah well you deserved that,” she replied hotly. “She was a nice girl…”

Ashlyn finally found her confidence as she felt Ali’s anger dwindle a bit. “Is that really what you want?”

“What?”

“Is that what you want? A nice girl?”

Ali finally turned to meet Ashlyn’s gaze. Her eyes were still dark with desire and she realized maybe Ashlyn wasn’t just trying to ruin her date. Maybe there was more to it. “You know what I want…” her voice trailed off as her confidence faltered.

“I’m not so sure,” Ashlyn said as she leaned in closer to Ali, closing the gap between them and hoping she was reading the situation correctly. “I’ve been wrong about you before,” she divulged. “I figured Otto had nailed it when he said Latinos were your thing. And then I thought hot, muscular cops were your type. Remember?” she laughed, trying to lighten the mood as she thought back to when she believed Ali was flirting with Brody and the other rookie cop.

“They are,” Ali responded cheekily, spurred on by Ashlyn’s sudden closeness and the way her body was aching for her touch.

“What are?”

Ashlyn appeared confused and seeing her momentary lapse in confidence, gave Ali all the push she needed. “Hot, muscular cops are my thing,” she said with a seductive grin as she grabbed an unsuspecting Ashlyn’s collar and pulled her down into a deep, hungry kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you guys think? This was a fun chapter to write! lol


	19. Crossing the Line

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Smut. I tried my best lol

The heat in their kiss burned through both of their bodies with a fiery rage as the world stood still around them and their tongues battled for control. As Ali felt Ashlyn slip between her legs that were dangling from the bar stool, a small moan escaped from her lips so she finally pulled back from the kiss. She looked up at the blonde with dark, hungry eyes, “Take me home. Now.”

Ashlyn’s skin exploded into goosebumps at the brunette’s demand and the meaning behind them. Even though she knew it was a terrible idea, she couldn’t deny the brunette, nor could she deny herself the pleasure of finally getting what she wanted. No, what she needed. Without another word she grabbed Ali’s hand and dragged her from the bar. She was thankful that her house was only a couple blocks down the street, because she didn’t think she could wait another minute to hear the brunette screaming out her name. Unlocking the front door was a struggle, especially with Ali’s arms wrapped around her tightly as she nipped and kissed the exposed skin on Ashlyn’s neck. Luckily, she managed to ram the key into the lock and open the door before turning with a smirk to drag Ali into her house behind her. Before the door had even closed, Ashlyn closed the gap between them and slammed Ali into it. Her eyes were hungry with desire as well and she could feel her heart racing in anticipation as she looked down at Ali who was seductively biting her lip.  
Ashlyn couldn’t handle it anymore. She was craving Ali, she needed her and she was tired of waiting. 

Without another word she crashed their lips together and could feel Ali’s hands instinctively tangle into her hair at the back of her neck, pulling her in deeper and begging for more. As their tongues began battling for dominance and Ali pulled Ashlyn closer, grinding her hips against the blonde’s, Ashlyn felt like her body was set on fire. She began to trail, hot, open mouthed kisses from Ali’s jawline down her neck and let out a frustrated sigh when her lips met the fabric of her dress. When Ali let a soft moan at the lack of contact, Ashlyn couldn’t control herself anymore. There were too many clothes separating her from what she really wanted. 

She turned Ali around and pressed her front firmly into her back, not letting her lips leave the brunette’s neck as her left hand remained tangled in her hair. With her free hand she reached up and ripped the zipper to her dress down. She wasted no time kissing every inch of newly exposed skin as Ali stepped out of her dress, which she deemed had the desired effect when she felt Ali’s legs get a bit shaky.

“Ashlyn…please…”

She was begging and Ashlyn loved it. After months of teasing and flirting, she finally had her partner exactly where she wanted her. She wasn’t ready to take her yet though, she wanted to admire her beauty as she stood in front of her in a black lace bra and panties. She dropped her hands and wrapped them around Ali’s waist. As one arm held her up, she used the other to lightly ghost her fingers up Ali’s toned legs. Ali let out another soft moan and bucked her hips into Ashlyn’s wandering hand.

“Please…” she sighed again through ragged breaths as the blonde’s fingers rubbed gently over her panties.

“Mmm you’re so wet…” Ashlyn hummed into the brunette’s ear as she nibbled and kissed her earlobe. She was enjoying the way Ali was responding to her teasing. She was used to being in control and wanted to savor the moment before Ali lost the ability to speak coherently.

The brunette was having none of it though. She quickly turned and pushed Ashlyn backwards. The blonde stumbled and fell backwards onto the couch with a shocked look on her face. Before she could even react, Ali was on top of her straddling her. “Listen Harris...you can tease me all you want, but just know that I give as good as I get. So either fuck me, right now, or get ready for a longggg night of teasing.” She ripped off her bra and smirked back at a stunned Ashlyn.

Ashlyn had never had anyone throw it back at her like that. She was speechless, but totally turned on. “Why is your underwear still on then?” she asked with a cocky grin.

Ali lifted her hips and slid the lacy black underwear down before dangling it in the air and then tossing it across the room. “Anything else?” she shot back with a sexy grin that sent shivers down Ashlyn’s spine.

“Nope.”

Ashlyn effortlessly flipped their positions so that she was now straddling Ali. It was quick and caught Ali off guard, but she easily sank back into the couch while pulling Ashlyn down so that their bodies were melded together. Ashlyn began grinding her hips down on Ali, whose hands slipped to Ashlyn’s butt to gain herself even more friction. As Ashlyn created some space and ran her hand up Ali’s leg, Ali’s hands slipped under the hem of her shirt and ran along her toned abs. The Detective got the hint and lifted just a bit so that Ali could slide the shirt she was wearing over her head, followed by her sportsbra. She let her eyes wander the blonde’s toned stomach and tattoos in amazement for a moment before the pulsing between her legs got the best of her and she dragged Ashlyn back down and began sucking and kissing her neck. 

A slight moan escaped Ali’s lips when she felt Ashlyn’s warm skin graze against hers. Her whole body felt as if it was on fire and she couldn’t wait any longer. Luckily, the moan was all it took for Ashlyn to get the hint and she took Ali’s nipple in her mouth as she slid her fingers through her wet folds. Ali felt her breath catch in her throat at the contact.

“I need you in me,” she moaned into Ashlyn’s ear.

The blonde eagerly obliged and slipped a finger slowly into Ali’s core, moving it in and out slowly, but deeply as she warmed her up. Ali’s hips bucked up into Ashlyn, subconsciously begging for more. As Ashlyn rubbed Ali’s clit with her thumb, she slipped another finger in, relishing the moans that were escaping Ali’s lips as she increased her speed.

“Fuck Ash. Don’t stop,” she managed to get out through her ragged breath as her hands desperately search for something to hold onto and found refuge in the blonde’s hair. She pulled her partner up to gather her lips in a kiss and felt her legs begin to shake as Ashlyn put more pressure into rubbing her clit. 

“Don’t stop Ash. I’m close,” she moaned into Ashlyn’s mouth which only spurred her on more.

She could feel Ali begin to tighten around her and wanted to finally give her what she had been so patiently waiting for. Her pace picked up and she finally curled her fingers, sending Ali’s body in convulsions as she felt the waves of euphoria wash over her.

“Fuckkkk,” she moaned into the crook of Ashlyn’s neck as her legs wrapped around the blonde’s waist to pull her in even tighter.

Ashlyn helped her ride out her orgasm for another minute as Ali spilled onto her hands. 

“Oh my god,” Ali whispered as her body finally relaxed and the tremors stopped rippling through her body.

Ashlyn slid her fingers out and licked them clean. “Mmm you taste good,” she said with a cocky smile.

“Let me taste,” Ali purred as she pulled Ashlyn down into a hungry kiss.

Ashlyn was taken off guard when Ali’s ran her hand just underneath her waistband. Her mouth let out an involuntary moan and Ali knew she had her exactly where she wanted. “It’s your turn. Take me to the bedroom. Now,” she commanded.

Ashlyn eagerly lifted Ali off the couch and felt the brunette wrap her arms around her waist. “Yes Miss Officer,” she said with a smirk before stumbling her way to her bed.


	20. The Morning After

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow can't believe we're at twenty chapters already! I swear this story is writing itself!!

The next morning when Ashlyn rolled over in bed and felt cold sheets next to her, she thought the night before must have been a dream. It didn’t surprise her, it wasn’t the first time she had dreamed about a steamy session with her partner, but this time it had felt so real. _Maybe I drank more than I thought last night_ , she thought as she rolled over and rummaged through her night table drawer and produced some aspirin. She popped three in her mouth and washed them down with water before sitting up and rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. Her head was pounding and she was still groggy, but she couldn’t mistake the scent of coffee that was filing her nostrils. _Did I really set the coffee pot last night?_ “Wow drunk Ashlyn takes really good care of sober Ashlyn”, she chuckled to herself. “But drunk Ashlyn doesn’t wear dresses,” she deduced to herself when her sleepy eyes noticed the little black dress that was tossed haphazardly over the top of her dresser. Her eyes scanned the floor where they also found a pair of black lace panties and high heel shoes. That’s when all the memories from the night before came flashing back.

“Shitttt,” she grumbled before pressing her face into the palm of her hands when she heard the unmistakable sound of a certain someone’s singing drifting in from the kitchen. She had heard that singing voice far too often for her liking in the confines of their patrol car during long drives and stakeouts and shook her head as a small grin crawled across her lips. Ashlyn tossed on a loose fitting white tee, tugged a pair of black shorts up over her hips and pulled her hair up into a messy bun before plodding down the hall.

When the hallway ended, it opened up into the kitchen and Ashlyn couldn’t fight the smile that filled her face as she took in the sight before her. Ali was standing in front of the stove with her hair thrown up in a messy bun in Ashlyn’s charcoal gray button-up from the night before that hung about eight inches above her knees. She was holding a spatula up to her lips and singing Drunk in Love into it in a terrible pitch with not a care in the world and Ashlyn couldn’t help but think it was the cutest thing she had ever seen.

“I want you, na na…Why can’t I keep my fingers of you, baby? I want you, na naaaaa.”

“Sounds a lot like what you were saying last night,” Ashlyn interjected, as Ali whipped around with wide eyes.

She definitely hadn’t expected Ashlyn to be awake so soon and looked like a deer in the headlights. Ashlyn smirked, glad that she had regained her confidence. Ali’s moans and screams from the night before had done wonders to restore that.

“Don’t act like that was one sided, Harris,” she chided with a smirk of her own.

Ashlyn gulped as she nodded in agreement. “I must say I am pretty impressed,” she stated simply as she entered the kitchen and wrapped her arms around the brunette who had turned back to the griddle to flip the pancakes. "You had some moves of your own that were quite surprising."

Ali let her body melt back into the blonde for a moment, sighing softly as she pressed light kisses into her neck. “Damn a girl could get used to waking up to this,” Ashlyn playfully teased as she unwrapped her arms from Ali’s waist and grabbed a coffee mug from the cupboard.

“What do all the other girls that you bring home do in the morning?” Ali asked with a raised eyebrow.

“They usually don’t stay the night and if they do they’re gone before I get up,” she responded with a shrug before taking a sip from her mug. “But this…this is definitely much better.” She sighed happily and plopped onto a stool that was sitting before the breakfast bar.

“Oh so you like the Krieger treatment better?”

Ashlyn didn’t know if it was the exact words, the way Ali mumbled them or the sultry smirk she was giving her, but her skin began to tingle with want again as she looked the brunette up and down. “Mmmm,” she hummed. “I definitely like the Krieger treatment.” She winked which only made Ali shake her head.

“Well don’t get used to it. I’m supposed to be the princess here, remember?” she teased as Ashlyn rolled her eyes in response.

“Right. Right. Well the tables have definitely been flipped because you seem to be the one taking care of me all the time,” Ashlyn playfully whined. She was grateful for it, but also felt bad that Ali was always the one taking care of her. She was used to being the one to take care of people.

“Oh don’t worry. You definitely took care of me last night, baby.”

The playful pet name didn’t go unnoticed by either woman, but they decided to let it be. Both were still unsure of where this was going or what was even happening.

“So…where do we go from here?” Ali asked, finally breaking the awkward silence that hung in the air as she switched off the stove top and slid two plates of steaming pancakes across the counter.

Ash knew there was so much they needed to talk about. Was this a one time thing? Was it something more? How would they act at work? The questions were endless and she knew it was a conversation that couldn’t go un-had, but the moment Ali leaned over the counter and she caught a glimpse of her cleavage that was exposed by her movement, all thoughts went out the window. She stood up and quickly closed the gap between them, trapping Ali to the counter with a hand on each side of her body.

Ali’s eyes went wide at the sudden domination Ashlyn was displaying, but she would be lying if she said it wasn’t turning her on.

“That’s a nice shirt,” Ashlyn purred into Ali’s ear as she nibbled on her lobe.

“Oh you like it?” Ali asked with an innocent bashfulness, knowing her submissiveness would turn the blonde on even more.

“Yeah, but I think I would like it better off,” she said as she quickly slid her fingers into the shirt and ripped it wide open, sending buttons scattering in every direction.

Ali gasped, but before she could even respond, Ashlyn had grabbed the back of her thighs and lifted her onto the counter, settling in between her legs as she pulled Ali’s body firmly against hers.

“What…about…breakfast,” Ali managed through ragged breaths as Ashlyn trailed kisses from her neck and down her torso.

“First…I’ll have you. Then I’ll have pancakes,” she winked before settling her head in between Ali’s thighs.


	21. Sooo....

“It’s getting late. I…I guess I should get going, huh?” Ali asked. She was lying on Ashlyn’s couch, in her borrowed clothes, snuggled into her side. After spending the night together after the bar, neither made a move to leave the house all the next day and instead had cuddled up on the couch for a day long movie marathon, and of course much more kissing and touching. The sun had set long ago though and Ali wasn’t sure how to approach the questions burning through both of their minds. Her question wasn’t as much about actually leaving as it was a prompt to discuss what was swirling through their minds all day.

Ashlyn looked down at the beautiful brunette and let out a long sigh. They both knew it was coming, but neither wanted to talk or think about it. “Look Al…You know I like you and I really enjoyed this…”

She could see the look in Ashlyn’s eyes and already knew where the conversation was going. She pulled her head up from Ashlyn’s lap and met her gaze with a straightforward one of her own as she sat up straight. “I know. I know. This, whatever this is, can’t be a thing. We,” she pointed back and forth between them, “can’t be a thing.”

The blonde’s eyes dropped to the floor. Ali had taken the words right out of her mouth, albeit rephrased it in a harsher way, but the thoughts were still the same. “You know the Lieutenant would never allow it. I’m technically your superior and they would have to transfer one of us to a different department…”

Even though it had only been one night, Ali felt like her heart was being broken. She had been so wrong; one night with the blonde wasn’t enough to satiate her longing desires, all it did was increase her feelings ten fold. On the other hand, she knew what her partner was saying was true. There’s no way they could ever be anything real and both keep their jobs. “Yeah. I know, Ashlyn. And come Monday we’ll be professional and act like this never happened right?”

The hurt in Ali’s eyes was apparent and Ashlyn could barely bring herself to meet her gaze. “I guess,” was all she was able to bring herself to say. She wanted to say so much more, but knew it would only complicate things more.

The lack of any feeling in Ashlyn’s words just angered Ali even more. She expected her to at least show some sort of emotion that what they had was about to end before it even had a chance to really begin. The venomous words spewed from her mouth as a result of this anger. “Should be easy for you, right? I mean the ‘hit it and quit it’ thing is kind of your specialty, isn’t it?”

The words cut deep to Ashlyn’s heart, stinging almost as much as it did when Ali had slapped her the night before after her stunt at the bar. It broke her to know that Ali thought that little of her. “Are you kidding me?”

Ali didn’t reply and just looked at her pointedly, secretly applauding herself for getting some emotion out of the blonde, even if it was anger now.

“You really think that’s all this was to me? Some ploy to get in your pants one night? Whatever, Krieger.” She shook her head as she threw the covers off her legs and stood up abruptly from the couch. “You can keep the clothes. Just bring them to work after you get a chance to wash them.” Without another word she stormed down the hallway towards her bedroom leaving Ali sitting on the couch dumbfounded.

As she watched Ashlyn storm away the realization hit her. This had been more to her. She leaned forward and pinched the bridge of her nose as she sat undisturbed on the couch and she tried to process everything. The hurt in Ashlyn’s eyes had been present and she instantly felt bad for lashing out as she heard the blonde angrily slam her bedroom door. She couldn’t let it be like this. If it had to end, she wasn’t going to let it end like this. After taking a few deep breaths she pushed off the couch and plodded down the dark hallway where she flicked the light on. Without knocking, she cracked the door open and when the light flooded into the room she could make out the silhouette of Ashlyn leaning against the headboard with her knees pulled tightly to her chest. “Ash,” she breathed out, alerting the blonde to her presence.

“What?” she responded shortly.

“I’m sorry for what I said.” She took a few steps into the room, but still lingered a few steps from the bed.

“It’s probably just easier if that’s what we chalk it up to,” she shrugged, still angry at the accusation, but figuring it was easier than actually talking about their feelings.

Ali could tell that the blonde was really upset, so she closed the gap between them a bit more and plopped down on the end of the bed. “Ash, what’s going on in that mind of yours?”

The question got a slight laugh out of the blonde. “Who knows,” she scoffed and looked back at Ali with a dejected gaze.

“You can talk to me. Whatever is going on in there, I’m here for you. You know that, right?”

“How could I not?” she sighed and dropped her gaze back to her gray comforter.

“What does that mean?” Ali asked quizzically while she watched the blonde nervously pick at a non-existent thread on the bed.

Despite the tears pooling in the corner of her eyes, Ashlyn brought her gaze up to meet Ali’s again. “You’ve been there for me more in these few months than anyone besides my family has my entire life. It seems whenever I fall down you’re right there to pick me up and I don’t know why. I was terrible to you and you’re still here. I just…” she lost her confidence and dropped her gaze again.

Ali could sense there was more she needed to say so she scooted up the bed and gently lifted the blonde’s chin so their eyes were locked again. She wiped a stray tear from her cheek and smiled softly, “You just what?”

“I just…I need you by my side. And not just through the Mendez case because that’s going to be hard, but through everything, Alex. I don’t think I could bear to lose you.”

The sincerity in her eyes burned through Ali and ignited a fire that she didn’t know she had been suppressing. To have someone need and want her like that again, it meant more to her than she could even put into words. She pulled her partner into her chest and placed a kiss on her temple. “You’ll never lose me, Ash. I’m not going anywhere.”

After a moment Ashlyn pulled back and wiped her own tears away as she shook her head. “You can’t promise that, Al.”

Ali grabbed her face gently between her palms, “Well that’s weird, because I just did, didn’t I?”

Her beaming smile lit up the dark room and Ashlyn found herself getting lost all over again as a smile of her own forced it’s way to the corner of her lips. “So…what do we do now?” she asked as she leaned back against the headboard and wrapped Ali up in her arm when she leaned back as well.

Ali shrugged as she pretended to contemplate their different alternatives when in reality she had already played them out over and over in her mind for weeks. “Well…we could as you suggested earlier, pretend it never happened and it’ll just be a one-time thing. You know just go back to being friends and partners and no one needs to know we broke the rules. On the other hand we could tell that Lieutenant and after they reprimand us one of us will be reassigned to a different department and hopefully it’ll be in the same area so we could actually date and do this the right way. I’d miss you, but at least we’d still have our jobs and hopefully be in the same area. Or…” her voice trailed off, unsure of how Ashlyn would take the final suggestion.

“Or what?” She gave her a gentle nudge with her elbow urging her to continue.

“Or we act like partners at work and…something else when we’re not at work.” She stated it simply as if it was no big deal and waited for the blonde to mull over the ideas.

“You know option three means both of us risking our jobs, right?”

Ali just shrugged and looked back at her. “It’s worth it.”

“Wow. Who knew Officer Krieger was such a rule breaker?” Ashlyn teased and poked her gently in the ribs as she tried to lighten the mood and buy herself some more time to come up with a better response. She knew she wanted to be with Ali. They had a connection that she couldn’t explain and had never felt with anyone, not even Jenna. There was an undeniable attraction to each other and Ashlyn just couldn’t stay away, nor did she want to. But she also didn’t want to risk both of their jobs, something they both took very seriously and were very good at. She didn’t know if she could have one without losing the other and the thought terrified her. She was lost in her own thoughts, when Ali’s voice broke through.

“What can I say? I’m a rebel,” she replied teasingly. “Sooo…what do you think, Ash?” Ali knew exactly what she was doing and wasn’t going to bite.

In reality, even though the clutter and chaos in her mind, Ashlyn already knew what her answer was. “I think…I think I definitely have a thing for bad girls with no regards for the rules,” Ashlyn replied seductively before flipping their position so that she was now straddling Ali and hovering over her pinning Ali’s hands above her head.

“Ooo Officer I think I might have broken some laws,” she teased as she sunk back down into the bed to look back up at her partner with dark eyes.

“That’s Detective to you, ma’am,” Ashlyn smirked as she looked down at the brunette who was playing up the submissive role to get her worked up. It was definitely working.

“Oh, well then, Detective…are you going to have to arrest me?” Ali asked in a sultry voice with a smirk that she knew would drive Ashlyn wild as she grinded her hips up into the blonde’s, begging for more contact.

The coy smirk and contact of Ali’s hips on her own was all it took for Ashlyn to close the gap between their lips. “I think so ma’am,” she replied breathlessly when she pulled back from the kiss for air. “I think I have some handcuffs around here somewhere…”


	22. Women in Uniform

Ashlyn felt a rough pair of hands on her shoulder and quickly whipped around to find herself face to face with the Lieutenant. 

“You ready for this, Harris?” he asked with a serious face.

“Yes, sir. We both know there’s a lot riding on this case and I won’t let you down.”

“You haven’t yet and I don’t think you’ll start now,” he said with a small smile and patted her upper arm.

“Thank you, sir. Now I’ve got to get in there and go over everything with my team,” she said with a nod towards the conference room where several men and women had already assembled.

He simply nodded and stated, “Go nail that bastard,” before turning to head towards his office. 

Ashlyn took a few deep breaths and leaned back against the dull, gray brick wall that made up the interior of the station. This was the day she had prepared so long for and it was finally there. She was going to get her revenge on Mendez and he was going to finally get what he deserved. As confident as she was her nerves were at an all-time high and she fought desperately to settle them before heading into a room where everyone would be looking to her for leadership.

Glancing up at the clock she saw that it was 11:50 and that she still had ten minutes until she was expected. Everything was already set up in the room and even though she would usually go in before to shoot the shit with some of the guys, she just wanted to be alone with her thoughts for a few minutes. 

That turned out to be a bad idea when her thoughts turned back to the last time she had come face to face with Mendez. His cold, daunting eyes staring deep into hers after he had pulled the trigger and Walker slumped to the ground, was an image that was ingrained into her memory. Her palms began to sweat and she quickly pushed off the wall and quickly made her way to the bathroom to splash some water on her face.

She pushed open the door and immediately made her way over to the sinks. With her right hand she spun the faucet handle while she balanced on the edge of the sink with her left hand. She looked up at herself in the mirror for a moment before letting her hands fill with water and splashing it on her face a few times. Glancing up again, she watched as the water dripped down from her face, washing away along with her nerves. A few deep, calming breaths did the rest and she was ready.

“You got this, Harris,” she whispered to herself. 

A small laugh behind her broke her from her trance. As she turned around two hands pushed her up against the bathroom wall. “You’re cute when you’re nervous,” Ali teased as she glanced up at the blonde whose confused face had finally melted into a smile.

“And you’re pretty sexy in this uniform,” she added suggestively before placing a kiss on Ashlyn’s neck. Since they were in the narcotics unit they usually dressed in every day clothes, so seeing Ashlyn in her blue uniform for this operation was a rare sight, but a very welcome one.

Ashlyn finally regained her composure when Ali began trailing kisses down her neck. “You don’t look to bad in uniform yourself, Officer Krieger,” she chided before slipping her hands down to Ali’s waist and pulling her body in tighter. It was like she could never get close enough to the brunette even if she tried. The fruity scent of her shampoo filled her nostrils and she found herself starting to get lost in Ali’s touch.

The sudden closeness only spurred Ali on even more and she slid her hand down Ashlyn’s chest and began toying with the front of her waistband, slipping a finger in and dragging it along the line of her boy shorts.

“Mmmm don’t start something you can’t finish, Krieger,” warned Ashlyn. They were both getting pretty heated and Ash knew if they didn’t stop soon, they wouldn’t be able to.

Just then the door of the bathroom open and Ali pushed Ashlyn away faster than she had against the wall. She wiped her lips and smirked before turning and making her way out. “Nice seeing you, Heather,” she said with a smile as the smaller blonde Officer made her way into the bathroom.

“You too, Ali!” the woman chimed. When she rounded the corner and saw Ashlyn leaning against the bathroom wall with her eyes closed, she stopped. “You nervous about today, Harris?” the woman asked, completely oblivious to what had just been happening.

Her words pulled Ashlyn from her state of concentration. “Oh…uhhh…yeah I guess. I’m just trying to clear my head,” she added in an attempt to justify why she was leaning against the bathroom wall with her eyes closed. In reality she was trying to calm her heartbeat and wait for the throbbing between her legs to go away. Ali had gotten her pretty worked up and she wasn’t going to be able to face her in a room full of other Officers and Detectives if she didn’t give herself time to calm down.

“Well goodluck!” she chirped before disappearing into one of the stalls. 

Ashlyn said a quick prayer that they hadn’t been caught in the bathroom, but let out a groan as she pushed through the door. It hadn’t even been a full day and already they were nearly being caught in compromising positions. She had no idea how she was going to keep this charade up.

It got even worse when she was walking down the hall towards the meeting room. She felt someone slap her roughly on the back. 

“Harris what happened to you Friday night!” asked Brody. 

She was about the head into the room, but stopped dead in her tracks. “What are you talking about?” she tried to play it off.

Brody just shot her an incredulous look. “I seem to recall a certain bet that we made,” he said as he wagged his eyebrows. “Soooo…how was it?”

Ashlyn was caught in a bad spot. She didn’t want to lose her $200, but she promised Ali they would keep a secret for the time being. “Well if you were watching then you probably saw me get slapped, so you can judge for yourself,” she managed a laugh. She wasn’t exactly lying so she didn’t feel too guilty.

“Well I also seem to recall you kissing her and then you two disappearing.” As much as he loved money, this was a bet he didn’t want to lose.

Ashlyn forced herself to laugh. “What you saw was me trying to kiss her. Then she pushed me back into the crowd, slapped me and ran after her date that I had scared off.”

Brody didn’t quite buy it, but figured Ash wouldn’t lie to him. “Hmmm…well there’s always next time,” he said with a reassuring grin and nudged her with his elbow. 

“Yeah yeah. I think I’m going to give this one up, though,” she said with a convincing sigh.

“Why’s that?” He knew the blonde wasn’t one to give up so easily. There was something she wasn’t telling him.

“Hey a girl can only get slapped in the face so many times until she learns her lesson!” Ash replied with a laugh.

“I guess so,” he replied, letting her off the hook for the moment. “You ready to head in there?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be.”


	23. What's the Plan Boss?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Luckily I was able to get lots of writing done today so here's an update! Hope you all had a great weekend :)

Ashlyn was glad that when she finally walked into the room at noon that all eyes didn’t immediately fall on her. Everyone was in small groups talking which allowed her to walk over to the small desk at the front of the room and glance over a few papers before starting.

She was in the zone, focused and ready to go when she felt a hand on the small of her back. She glanced to her left to see a familiar pair of brown eyes looking back at her, with a smirk to match the playfully sparkling eyes.

“Sorry we got interrupted earlier,” Ali whispered as she bent over and pretended to be looking over the pages with her partner.

“It’s fine. I just don’t know how you’re going to handle looking at me in uniform all day,” Ashlyn responded with a wide, dimple displaying grin of her own. 

“Funny, Harris. You’ve got to stare at me in mine all day too,” she replied with a cute smile.

“I think I can handle it.” Ash tried to play it cool, like it wasn’t flustering her.

Ali knew the game the blonde was playing and decided to step it up a notch. “Well as much as I like that uniform on you, it doesn’t stand a chance when we get back to my place later,” Ali said confidently as she nodded to what Ashlyn was pointing at on the page, keeping up with their charade that they were going over last minute plans. The game they were playing was enthralling and Ali was using every ounce of willpower not to take Ashlyn on the desk right then and there.

“Oh is that so?” Ash challenged, but when she looked back over her shoulder, Ali was gone. She spun around and saw her leaning back against the wall, arms crossed.

Ashlyn grumbled something under her breath before calling for everyone’s attention. “Alright now is everyone ready for tonight?” she asked and smiled when she got a lot of enthusiastic responses. Everyone in the room knew how much this case and finally catching Mendez meant to her and she was glad to have such a supportive group of people by her side.

“So what’s the plan boss?” Rodgers teased when he saw Ashlyn beaming at the front of the room.

She quickly pulled her thoughts together to address the group. “Alright, our intel has the drop at nine tonight at the pier. We don’t know exactly where and we all know the pier is a big place, so we’ll be spread out in groups around the place. Everyone will have a partner and if you look up here on the board,” she pointed to the dry erase board in front of the room, “you’ll see your assignments. Obviously if you have a partner already you’ll be together, but those that fly solo will be paired up for this op. We know Mendez and his boys roll with heavy artillery so we need to be prepared and everyone needs to have their backup.”

Ash paused for a minute to allow everyone to look up at the board and figure out their partners before she continued. “Everyone got that?” she asked and when she was met with a sea of nodding heads, she walked to the board and pushed it over, revealing a second board behind it where the pier was mapped out.

“As you can see we have everything laid out here. We’ll have three teams blocking the exit,” she used her left hand to point to the three numbers by the exit that designated which teams would be responsible for covering that area. Then she slid her fingers down to another section of the map, “Another two will be situated along the sides,” she said and turned to find those two teams nodding in understanding. Then she pointed to the entrance that was labeled ‘1124’, “And obviously Krieger and I will cover the entrance so we can make sure everyone knows who’s coming in and we can pass along any last minute details.” After glancing around the room it seemed that everyone was in understand and she looked over to Ali who just gave her a reassuring nod to continue. “When they pull in, we’ll have Henderson patch in to their audio and broadcast it through our radios so we can have ears on what’s happening down there. You think you can handle that?” she asked as her gaze fell on a large man in his late thirties.

“Of course. That’s why I’m here isn’t it, Harris?” he asked with a laugh.

The rest of the room chuckled, knowing that Henderson wasn’t the most athletic or in-shape one of the group. 

“Yes that is why you’re here,” Ash said with her own laugh, glad that some of the tension had been eased with the man’s joke. When the laughter settled down she continued, “Anyways, once they’re in, I need everyone to hold their positions. No one, and I mean no one, can move until we see the drugs and money change hands. I won’t lose this asshole again over some technicality that gets this case thrown out of court. Got it?”

The audience in the room nodded quickly, noting that the Detective’s face had grown much more serious.

“Now we’re going to arrive there at seven and stake out our places and have everyone get settled in. It will be dark then, but I still want everyone to proceed with caution. We all know how quickly these things can go downhill and Officer safety is my number one here. Any questions?”

Detective Brody raised his hand and Ash pointed to him, “What’s up Brody?” 

“Are we allowed to bring snacks?” he asked as seriously as he could before cracking into a grin.

Ashlyn and Ali just rolled their eyes at his question before Ali spoke up. “Yeah just make sure it isn’t something crunchy. The last thing I need to hear is you crunching into the radio the whole damn time we’re there!” she teased him while shaking her head at the ridiculousness of his question.

“You got it, Krieger,” he added with a wink.

“Anyone have a serious question?” Ash said to the room.

Another hand slowly raised.

“Go ahead Rodgers.”

“You want him dead or alive?”

The question quickly quelled any giggles that were still being passed around the room and Ashlyn grew much more serious herself. She knew it was protocol to try to bring every suspect in alive to face the court system, but this was a question between officers that went much deeper than that. Mendez had taken one of their own, one of Ashlyn’s own and there was a code among them. On the surface it was a simple question that could be answered by any rookie cop still in the Academy, but in reality there was a much deeper sentiment.

Ashlyn’s voice got caught in her throat for a moment, initially touched by the lengths they were willing to go for her. Her mind wavered between doing what was right and what she really wanted. She was about to speak up when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

“Alive,” Ali simply stated. “We take him alive if possible.” She wasn’t willing to let Ashlyn make a decision that would compromise her integrity. If they were going to do this, they were going to do it the right way.

The room waited for confirmation and Ashlyn quickly gave it to them by nodding her head, encouraged by Ali’s unwavering and confident support. “Alive.”

“Alright then. You heard her. Alive if possible,” he drew out the last two words and everyone around nodded.

“Okay why don’t you all get together with your partners to study the maps? I’ll be around if you have any questions or need any assistance.”

With that Ashlyn turned her back to room and mouthed a ‘thank you’ to Ali who simply smiled reassuringly and nodded before walking towards the back of the room to talk things over with the other members of the task force.

Ashlyn took a seat on top of the desk and reviewed some things herself, playing out different scenarios in her head. After about fifteen minutes a familiar laugh grabbed her attention. Her eyes lifted from the page and settled on her partner. Ali was standing next to a younger, good-looking Officer who Ashlyn had known from the Academy. She knew he had a reputation for being a bit of a player and she couldn’t help but notice he was using the same moves on Ali at the moment that he had been using on girls at the bar since she had known him. He leaned in close and grazed her arm when he spoke before dipping his eyes a bit too low for his liking. Ashlyn figured she had nothing to worry about, but still couldn’t fight the pang of jealously she felt when Ali laughed back and playfully placed a hand on his chest. If she was trying to convince everyone that her and Ash weren’t a couple, or whatever they were, she was doing a great job. Too good of a job for Ashlyn’s liking. After watching for another minute, she couldn’t take it anymore. She pushed herself off the desk and casually strolled by where the two were talking.

“So I was wondering if after everything tonight if you maybe wanted to grab a drink with me?” Ashlyn overheard him ask with a strong sense of confidence.

Before Ali could respond, Ashlyn stumbled into the conversation, pretending she thought they were talking about the operation and not something personal. “Hey Smith do you mind doing me a favor?”

Ever the eager Officer he quickly obliged, “No problem, Harris. What can I do for you?”

“Well I’ve got something important going on tonight that I need to be present for so I was wondering if you could take inventory after the op tonight and get everything back to the weapons locker. It would be a huge help and I would definitely owe you one.”

The man’s confidence immediately fell as he looked back to Ali sadly. He knew he couldn’t say no to the Detective even though it meant he would be there for hours after everyone else left and he would miss out on his chance with Ali, that he didn't know he already didn't have. “Yeah it’s not a problem,” he grumbled before turning and walking towards the back of the room.

“Thanks, bud!” Ash said enthusiastically as she smacked him on the back. When she turned back around Ali was giving her an amused grin. 

“Really, Harris?” she asked with a raised eyebrow. She knew exactly what Ashlyn was doing.

Ash gave her a look in response as if to say ‘I have no idea what you’re talking about’ and just shrugged. “What?” 

“I was going to tell him no, Ash,” she said with a pointed glance.

“I really don’t know what you’re talking about, Krieger. I just have something important tonight and needed him to help me out.”

“And what is so important? I thought we had plans?” she realized Ashlyn must have forgotten that she had something else going on and would have to cancel.

“Well this sexy brunette I know was telling me that she couldn’t wait to get me out of my uniform tonight,” she whispered into Ali’s ear. “And I don’t think I could handle restocking the weapons locker when my mind would be thinking about what she’d be doing to me if I was home instead.”

Ali pulled back and grinned. “Oh I guess that is pretty important,” she said with a laugh,

“First we nail Mendez and then I nail you,” Ash responded with a grin and discreetly patted her butt before heading over to address the team.

Ali just shook her head and rolled her eyes. _This woman is going to be the death of me._


	24. The Bust

“Everyone in position?” Ashlyn received the necessary responses and crouched back in her spot. “Remember no one moves until we see Mendez and the money and drugs change hands. And above all else, Mendez is the target. Secure him at all costs.” She looked over her shoulder and nodded confidently at Ali, who gave her a sure smile. 

“We’re going to get him, Ash. He’s going to get what he deserves.” 

Seeing her smile and confidence radiate immediately put Ashlyn at ease. If it weren’t for the circumstances, she could have gotten lost in her eyes. “Let’s go this, partner.”

Ashlyn and Ali fist-bumped before settling back into the place to wait for everything to go down. The sun had set long ago and the partners along with several other officers were staked out at the pier waiting for the drug deal to go down. They had all entrances and exits blocked and knew the element of surprise would give them the upper hand.

Forty minutes after they settled in, a large black SUV with tinted windows pulled in. “Alright everyone. We’re in business. Look alive,” Ash whispered into the radio on her shoulder as she un-holstered her gun. 

The SUV pulled into a dimly lit area of the pier between two run down warehouses. Ten minutes later, a beaten up red pickup truck pulled into the lot and came to a stop about fifteen yards from the SUV. After a minute, two men climbed out and were met by five men piling out of the SUV.

Ali could see Ashlyn tense immediately when the occupants of the SUV revealed themselves.

“Mendez…” she whispered. She pointed to a well-dressed man in a charcoal gray pinstripe suit, but Ali already knew who he was after weeks of research and quite honestly just by her partner’s reaction.

“Do we have ears on them?” Ali took over the radio, sensing that Ash needed a moment to compose herself. 

“Yeah. Patching it over Channel 34,” came a voice instructing them to tune their other radio to the other frequency.

_“You got my money?” said the taller of the men from the pickup truck._

_“It’s nice to see you again Robbie. Of course I have your money, but I need to see what I’m purchasing first.”_

The man nodded his head towards the pickup truck and Mendez instructed two of his crew members to check it out. They looked at the contents in the back of the truck as Robbie lifted up the dirty canvas tarp that laid over it. After poking, prodding and sniffing a few things, they seemed satisfied and returned to Mendez’s side nodding.

_“Alright. Your boys said it’s good so where’s my money, Mendez?”_

_“Not so fast, Robbie. I think the terms of the deal have changed.”_

_“What the hell are you talking about? The terms are the terms. If you don’t like them then you can fuck off.”_

It was evident that the men from the pickup truck were getting upset and Ashlyn was holding her breath. She knew that the deal needed to happen to nail Mendez and she was praying that it wouldn’t fall apart.

_“Well it seems that you broke the terms of the original deal.”_

_“And how the hell did I do that? I got your drugs here, when you wanted them and where you wanted them.”_

_“Yes, but you broke the terms of our agreement when you decided to bring the filthy cops along with you.”_

Ashlyn gasped. They had been made. She didn’t even have a second to process it as Mendez pulled out a gun and shot both of the other men in the chest. The drugs and money didn’t change hands, but now she had him, for murder. “MOVE! MOVE! MOVE!” she yelled into the radio as she pushed up out of her area and stormed the area with the other officers.

Ali followed closely behind hoping this didn’t end as badly as she thought it would. 

“POLICE! Hands in the air!” Ash screamed, her eyes trained on the man she hated most as he glared back at her from across the pier.

Mendez and his men quickly assessed the situation and saw Police officers closing in on them from every angle. They were cornered and did what was only natural to them. An onslaught of bullets erupted from their guns in every direction, aimed at the advancing officers who all ducked and dove out of the way to take cover. 

The officers returned fire, taking out two of Mendez’s crew members. They were outnumbered 10-3 now and Mendez knew it was a lost cause. He looked to the pickup truck, but knew there was no way he was getting out of there with his drugs and his life. “Let’s get out of here!” he shouted to his men who all nodded and laid down cover for themselves as they ran back to the SUV. 

Unexpectedly the SUV turned and flew back towards the entrance, where the only ones covering were Ashlyn and Ali. 

“They’re coming this way, Krieger!” Ashlyn yelled as she stepped out from behind her crate and began firing rounds at the SUV. She knew the other officers were too far out of position to help. It wasn’t a smart move since it was only the two of them, but at the moment her need for revenge was dictating her actions and outweighing her logic. It was up to her and Ali to bring him down. 

Without a second though, Ali jumped out from where she had taken cover and began firing her own bullets. There was no way she was going to leave Ashlyn out there by herself, even if it was a stupid move to not wait for backup or tail them in their cruiser. Another option didn’t even cross her mind, she was going to stand tall by her partner’s side. 

Mendez locked eyes on Ashlyn from 100 yards away and saw that the cop he hated was all that was standing between him and his escape. He pointed to her and yelled to his men to take her out as they got closer on their crash course. The man in the passenger seat stuck his machine gun out the window as did Mendez and began spewing bullets. Ashlyn jumped to cover just in time as the SUV whizzed by them and out the exit. “Let’s go Krieger!” She was about to sprint to her car and take off after them, when she heard something behind her.

Ali was slumped over, half draped over a barrel, clutching her shirt by her stomach which was red, with blood. The spot on her shirt was growing larger by the second. Ashlyn didn’t even hesitate and sprinted to her partner, catching her before her body slumped completely and hit the ground.

“No. No. No. Ali, you’re okay. Stay with me! You’re going to be okay!” She quickly ripped off her own shirt and balled it up, pressing it into Ali’s stomach to try to slow the bleeding. 

“Don’t let him get away, Ash,” Ali whispered as she fought to breathe.

The words stunned Ashlyn. Even after being shot, all she cared about was Ashlyn taking down her man and getting justice.

“No. I’m staying right here!” She grabbed the radio from her shoulder, “Officer down! Officer down! We need an ambulance here, NOW!” She looked back down and her heart almost stopped beating. Her lungs were screaming for her to breathe, but she couldn’t find the strength. The light had left Ali’s eyes and her eyelids were fluttering, trying to stay conscious. “No. No. Hey don’t leave me.” She gripped the woman tighter as if she was trying to transfer all of her strength to the weak brunette. “Please don’t leave me,” she begged as she buried her head into Ali’s nect.

“Get him. Go get him.” Even fighting through consciousness Ali wasn’t letting it go.

They waited for help to arrive, Ali almost inaudibly mumbling incoherently about Ashlyn leaving her to get Mendez and Ashlyn crying into Ali’s shoulder and begging her not to leave her. And that’s exactly how the ambulance found them fifteen minutes later.

As they loaded Ali up into the ambulance a frantic Ashlyn jumped into the back, completely forgetting that the operation she was supposed to be leading had completely tanked. She didn’t care. All she cared about was making sure she got to see her beautiful brunette smile again. She held tightly onto Ali’s hand during the ride, squeezing it every time it seemed like Ali was dosing off again. 

Everything was a blur around her as the two paramedics maneuvered around the back of the ambulance running tests and trying to stabilize. They were shouting things that Ashlyn didn’t understand, but their worried and frantic tones told her everything she needed to know, but didn’t want to hear.

“Ma’am we need you to step back now!” snapped the EMT. 

Ashlyn didn’t want to let go of her hand, realizing the touch was as much to comfort herself as it was to comfort Ali. 

“Detective!” the man snapped again as he shot her a warning glance to tell her she needed to move back.

Just then a monitor began beeping loudly and the man rushed to Ali’s side to assess the situation. The other man banged on the door to the front of the ambulance. “Speed it up! And make sure they have a surgery room prepped for us! Let’s go!”

As Ash watched Ali’s heartbeat rapidly drop on the monitor, she felt her own skyrocket. She couldn’t bear to lose her. The knot in her throat was making it hard to breathe and everything was spinning out of control as tears poured down her face. 

“No matter what, make sure you get him, Ash…” Ali’s words dropped off and her eyes closed just as they reached the hospital.

“We’re flat lining here! Let’s get her into surgery now!” the man screamed, as two nurses opened the back of the ambulance door and grabbed the stretcher Ali’s lifeless body was laying on. 

Everything finally hit Ashlyn when the stretcher was pulled out of the ambulance, pulling Ali’s hand out of her grip with it. In that moment, she had never felt so scared and alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I think now is the part where you all start to hate me. For the obvious reason of this cliffhanger and also because I may or may not be flying out for vacation tomorrow morning for a week (coincidentally my aunt has a house on the beach in Satellite Beach where Ashlyn's from) and I might not be able to post for a littleee :/


	25. Fighter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I'm such a terrible person and left you all hanging! Finally took a break from the warm weather, surfing and drinking to put this together. Hopefully I'll get to another one soon too!

“Are you serious right now?” Ashlyn screamed at the woman. “Is this a joke?” she turned around and angrily asked the other people in the waiting room hoping that one of them would tell her she was being pranked.

“Detective please calm down. We can divulge any information unless it’s to family,” the nurse replied evenly. She didn’t like the way she was being talked to, but knew the Detective was upset about her partner.

“It’s been hours! You can’t even tell me how the surgery went or if she’s out?” She understood the rules, but this wasn’t just anyone. It was Ali and she needed to know she was okay. She had to be okay.

“Not until family is here I’m afraid. Once Officer Krieger’s family is here I can fill them in on everything.”

Ashlyn was just about to object to the woman’s statement, a voice peeped up behind her.

“Did you say Officer Krieger as in Alexandra Krieger?” asked an out of breath man who appeared to be in his early thirties, with a smile that was eerily familiar to Ashlyn.

The woman looked the man up and down before responding, “Yes. And you are?”

The man breathed a sigh of relief that he was at the right place, but the worried look on his face still remained. “I’m her brother, Kyle,” he said as he extended his hand to shake the nurse’s. He didn’t wait for a response before jumping into his questioning. “How is my baby sister? All I got was a call from her Lieutenant saying she had been shot and taken to the hospital. Is she out of surgery yet? What’s going on?”

Ashlyn could tell that the man was frantic and extremely nervous. Ali had spoken about her brother before and she knew they shared a special bond.

The nurse looked at Ashlyn before turning to focus her attention on Kyle, “If you’d like we can go down the hall and get the doctor to discuss everything further.”

“Uh yeah. Yeah whatever you want. I just want to know what’s happening!” He turned to follow the nurse down the hall when he heard a loud sigh behind him. Something urged him to turn around and when he did he saw a very dejected blonde in uniform.

Ashlyn sighed, knowing that she was going to have to wait even longer to know what was happening with Ali. Kyle looked her over for a second before speaking, “Harris, as in Detective Harris?” he asked and pointed to the name sewn into her uniform.

Ashlyn perked up immediately, completely thrown off that he knew who she was. “Uh…yeah. That’s me. When you find out what’s going on can you fill me in? I’ve been here for hours, but they won’t tell me anything.”

Kyle could see that the woman was visibly upset. Her blonde hair was wrapped into a tight bun, but there were loose hairs poking out that she hadn’t attempted to tame. The eyes he assumed were normally full of life, appeared blank and red from the tears that still stained her cheeks. What caught his attention though, was the disheveled blood stained clothes she was still wearing. Clothes that were soaked with his little sister’s blood. Seeing it and realizing what it meant made him think he was going to throw up.

He turned his attention back to the nurse. “Can she come back with me?” he nodded to a shocked Ashlyn.

The sighed and nodded. Truth was, she had had enough of the blonde who had been relentlessly pestering her for the last four hours. “Yes. Follow me please.”

The two didn’t speak another word as they followed the nurse into a restricted area and were placed in a room to wait for the doctor.

Finally, after the nurse stepped out, Kyle broke the silence. “What happened?” he asked quietly, as if he was still unsure he really wanted to know the answer.

Ashlyn blinked to hold back a few tears that were trying to escape as she thought back to how everything went down. Truth was, she hadn’t stopped processing it. Every second of action had been analyzed and re-analyzed in her mind as she searched for answers to how the worst had happened and at least an hour was spent wishing it was her in surgery instead of Ali. She couldn’t help but think that it was all her fault.

Kyle seemed to sense her hesitation and reached his hand across the table to gently set it on the Detective’s. “Hey, Ali is a big girl. She willingly puts her life on the line for this job. This isn’t your fault.”

Ashlyn nodded, but still didn’t find truth in the words.

“So…what happened?”

With a deep sigh she leaned forward and placed her elbows on the table. “We were at a drug bust and somehow…somehow we got made. We took out a few of their guys, but the others went to flee. They were driving towards the entrance which Krieger and I were covering and I stood up from cover to try to shoot the driver and stop them. Ali…” she shuddered and dropped her face into her palms, “Ali tried to help me and somehow caught a bullet in the stomach. There was…there was blood everywhere…” she managed to get out before the sobs took over.

Kyle instinctively scooted over next to Ashlyn and wrapped her up in his arms. Based on the last time he talked to Ali he knew they had a strained relationship, but he could tell how much the Detective genuinely cared about his sister. Like it or not they were in the same boat.

When Ashlyn felt arms wrap around her she immediately tensed up. She wasn’t expecting any compassion from him, but should have known better since he was Ali’s big brother. It seemed that he felt her tense up and only made his grip around her tighter so she relaxed and relished the comfort knowing that it was as much for her as it was for him.

A voice clearing in the doorway pulled them from the embrace. They looked up to see a man dressed in light blue scrubs with a tired eyes and a drained look on his face. “Hello, I’m Dr. Jones.”

Kyle and Ashlyn immediately stood to shake the man’s hand and introduce themselves. They wanted to get to the answers as quickly as possible.

“Why don’t you two have a seat,” the Dr. stated as he pointed to the chairs they had been occupying.

The two didn’t like the grim look on his face, but obliged knowing that appeasing him was the easiest way to get their information.

“How is my sister?” Kyle asked.

“Officer Krieger is out of surgery. We were able to remove the bullet and fragments from her abdomen…” Ashlyn and Kyle both breathed a sigh of relief, which the doctor quickly caught onto and rushed to his next line, “but…she lost a lot of blood. A lot more blood than is healthy and she's…”

“She’s what?” asked a trembling Ashlyn. The suspense was killing her.

“She’s in a coma right now. She’s stable, but not waking up. At this point it’s a waiting game, but with the amount of blood she lost, we’re just not sure at this point.”

Ashlyn felt like she was going to vomit on the spot. The room was spinning and her lungs were constricted. It was happening again. Mendez had taken another partner from her and just like before had gotten away. A slight squeeze of her hand brought her back from her thoughts and she looked to her right to Kyle giving her a reassuring nod. If he hadn’t known the blonde’s true feelings for his sister before, seeing her reaction more than confirmed them. Even if Ashlyn wouldn’t admit it to Ali or even herself, she loved his sister.

“Thank you doctor. When can we see her?” He got right to the question that Ashlyn was dying to ask, but knew it wasn’t her place.

The doctor looked down to his watch and then back up to the eager couple. “They just moved her into her ICU room. I’d say about fifteen minutes until we know everything is okay and then you can see her. I’ll have a nurse come down and get you in a few minutes.”

They nodded and Dr. Jones was about to turn and leave when he was prompted to add something else. He landed his gaze on Kyle’s, “Your sister is fighter. I’ve had many people come in with that same gunshot wound before and few have even made it off my table, especially with that amount of blood loss. While we were sedating her, she was mumbling pretty incoherently. She asked for you though,” he shifted his gaze to meet Ashlyn’s. “She was asking for you and something about how you ‘better get that asshole’ or something along those lines.” He watched Ashlyn’s demeanor change as she shifted in her seat before finishing on a better note. “Anyways…We’re halfway there and I’ll do my best to make sure we get her back to you two,” he added with a nod before he turned and made his way out of the room.

Kyle eyed Ashlyn as he had noticed the change in her face as well. “What was that about?” he asked, genuinely interested.

As much as Ashlyn didn’t want to rehash it, she knew she owed Kyle and explanation. “Mendez, the guy who shot her…he uh, he shot and killed my first partner, Walker several months back.”

“Oh.” Kyle thought it was just a vengeance mission that went wrong.

“He’s one of the top dealers on the West Coast and we finally had a shot at him. He got the best of me again, and…” the tears began spilling down her cheeks again.

“Hey, Ash, the doctor was right. Ali is a fighter. My sister is the strongest woman I know. She’s going to be alright.”

At the moment though, that’s not what she was thinking about. “I swear to God if I ever come face to face with him again, I am going to kill him,” she said hotly through gritted teeth.

Kyle knew Ashlyn was in another world, consumed by her anger at the moment. He wanted to comfort her, but didn’t know how to comfort her.

Just then the nurse knocked on the door frame. “You two can follow me if you’d like. Miss Krieger isn’t awake, but you can see her now.”

Ashlyn could already feel the knot forming in her throat. _Pull it together, Harris._


	26. Off the Grid

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ayyyy how about that game today?! Definitely looking good out there! Here's a little chapter I put together today after watching the game. Hope you enjoy :)

As they approached the ICU room Ashlyn slowed up. “You go in first,” she said to Kyle. She could tell he was really shaken up and wanted him to be able to have some alone time with his sister before she went in.

“Are you sure? I don’t mind if you come in too,” he offered.

As much as she wanted to rush into the room and try to shake Ali awake, she knew her brother needed the time in there by himself to say whatever he wanted to. “No. You should have some time by yourself. I’ll wait out here.”

Kyle thanked her and turned to walk in the room as Ashlyn leaned back into the wall opposite the door and slumped down until her butt touched the ground. With her knees pulled into her chest, she buried her head into their refuge. Terrible flashbacks jolted her memory when she closed her eyes and she tried to squeeze them tighter to push them out, but it didn’t work. She was haunted by the scenes playing over and over in her mind, only this time it wasn’t just Ali being shot, it was also Walker. And both of the times, it had been Mendez to blame. Her knuckles were turning white due to her hands being clenched so tightly, but the beating pulse she felt in her fists were almost calming her. The steady pulsing heartbeat was sending waves of calm throughout her body as a reminder that she was still alive. No matter what happened to Ali, she still had the chance to right the wrongs and finish the job.

After taking a deep breath she stood up and peeked into the room. She couldn’t see Ali, but could see Kyle’s back and make out that he was mumbling something. They seemed alright for the moment so she took a few steps down the hall and pulled out her phone. She quickly dialed a number and waited for an answer.

“Harris! Jesus it’s about time I heard from you. How is she?”

“She’s alright for now Lieutenant. Made it out of surgery, but she’s in a coma. She…she lost a lot of blood so they’re really not sure what’s next at this point. It’s a waiting game.”

She heard a sigh on the other end of the line and knew exactly what the man was thinking. “Well I’ll be there as soon as I can. I’m still at the pier cleaning up your mess.”

The words stung Ashlyn, but she knew they could have been worse. She felt bad about leaving her team there to deal with everything when she left with Ali, but her mind was only focused on one thing and that was keeping Ali alive. “I know. I couldn’t leave her though…” her voice trailed off as she tried to stifle a sob trying to escape.

“I know where your head was at Harris and I can’t say I fault you for it. No one should have to go through what you went through twice. You made the right decision.”

His compassion was all Ashlyn needed to set her mind at ease. She still had her job, now she could finish what she started. “Thank you, sir. Is there any news on Mendez?”

She was hopeful, but the reply nearly crushed her.

“He’s off the grid again. No one has heard from or seen him for the last four hours. It’s like he vanished. He always seems to be a few steps ahead of us, but we’ll get him, Harris. I promise you we’ll get him.”

“I won’t stop until I do,” Ashlyn agreed. This man had taken too much from her already and she wasn’t going to let him get away with it. “When things,” she struggled to find the right words, “settle down here, that’s going to be my main focus. I don’t want any other cases.”

The Lieutenant smiled on the other end. “I wouldn’t expect anything less, Harris. Keep me posted on Krieger. Visiting hours are over today, but I’m sure some of the guys will join me at the hospital first thing in the morning.”

“Of course. I’ll let you know if anything changes. I’m just here with her brother now. Her parents will be getting in soon. Night Lieutenant.”

“Goodnight.”

Ashlyn went to hand up when the man spoke up again.

“One more thing, Harris.”

“Uh yeah…what’s that?” she caught his voice right before she ended the call and lifted the phone back up to her ear.

“My phone is always on. Any hour of the night if you need anything, do not hesitate to call me. I mean it.”

For the first time all night the corner of Ashlyn’s lips turned up. It meant a lot to have the older man looking out for her. “Thank you. Goodnight, sir.”

Just as she was hanging up the phone she felt a tap on her shoulder and quickly turned around to find a somber looking Kyle. “You can go in if you want.”

“How is she?” asked Ashlyn tentatively.

“She’s…she’s not herself that’s for sure,” he breathed out. “She doesn’t even look like herself in there. There’s so many machines hooked up to her. Prepare yourself for that,” he offered as he met Ashlyn’s gaze.

“Thanks. I’ll only be a few minutes,” she replied as she shifted uncomfortably on her heels.

“Take your time. My parents are on their way from the airport so I’m going down to the lobby to wait for them.” He slipped a business card in her front pocket. “My cell numbers on there if anything happens.”

“Thanks,” she meekly offered.

She felt a hand tug on her arm as she turned around.

“Oh and…um…”

“What is it?” She didn’t want to waste any more time, but was respecting Kyle’s situation as well.

“Um…before my parents get here…can you…can you take that off?”

Ashlyn followed where his finger was pointing and looked down to her uniform which was soaked with blood. She hadn’t even realized it and her hand began trembling as she ran her fingers over the dried splotches on her shirt. “Oh. Yeah. Not a problem.” She quickly stripped her uniform off revealing a clean white t-shirt and tossed it in the trash, never wanting to see it again.

“Thanks. I just want to try to shield them from as much as possible. She’s their little princess,” he joked in an attempt to lighten the mood.

_Mine too._ It didn’t do much though when Ashlyn’s mind flashed back to the morning after they first got together and how she kept teasing Ali and calling her a princess. She quickly shook the thoughts from her mind and refocused when she saw Kyle looking at her funny. “Yeah no problem. I’ll keep the gory details to myself,” she managed with a smile. “I’m…uh…I’m going to head in now.”

“You got it. Go get your girl,” he replied with a wink before turning to head down to the lobby.

Ashlyn wanted to reply and correct him, but her brain was frozen. Even if it wasn’t official, Ali was her girl. And when she woke up she was intent on making sure she knew that. She walked to the threshold of the door and took a deep breath. “It’s now or never,” she mumbled to herself before stepping into the room.


	27. Our Favorite Girl

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tomorrow is the last day of my vacation sooo I probably won't get an update in tomorrow, but next week should go back to more frequent updates! Hope you all had a good weekend :)

The steady, rhythmic beeping of the machines helped to settle Ashlyn’s heart that began racing when she stepped into the room for the first time. A few tears streamed down her face as she took in the sight before her, but she quickly wiped them off and tried to fight new ones from falling. Even though Ali was still in a coma, she still felt like she had to be strong for her. After willing herself to take a few deep breaths, she stepped towards the bed where her partner was lying. It looked like she was sleeping, just resting peacefully, and for a moment that’s what Ashlyn convinced herself, until the sound of the beeps and the plethora of machines brought her back to reality.

“Hey, Alex,” she whispered as she walked until her thighs were touching the edge of the bed. Her shaky hand reached out to grasp Ali’s tightly and give it a squeeze as her other hand gently pushed a few brown stray hairs out of her face. When Ali didn’t squeeze it back, that’s when she lost it. The tears were falling now and faster than she could stop them. “I’m so sorry, Ali. It’s all my fault. I’m sorry.” She brought Ali’s hand up and held it to her lips, lighting pressing them on her knuckles as she continued to sob. “It should have been me. I should be in that bed. It shouldn’t have been you,” she bawled as she willed herself to not let her body collapse onto the bed where her partner was lying.

Her sobs soon distanced themselves and when she felt like no more tears could possibly fall, she sunk down into the chair sitting next to Ali’s bed, still not letting her grip on her hand waver as she rubbed her thumb back and forth over the back of her hand. Every so often she would give it a squeeze and hope for a miraculous response, but it never came. She glanced up at the clock on the wall and realized how late it was. She knew she should go get Kyle and let him be with his sister, but she couldn’t leave without saying what she had been too scared to tell Ali before. With a deep breath in, she began, “Alex I just wanted to thank you. No matter what happens, these last two months have been some of the best of my life and that’s all because of you. You picked me up when I was down and out and brought the light back into my life. I can never thank you enough for that and I’m sorry it took so long for me to realize all of this. You just sort of came out of nowhere and I know I fought it at first, but I’m glad you’re so damn persistent.” She managed a small smile thinking to all of the stunts and flirting that Ali relentlessly pulled to get Ashlyn to let her in, before she turned serious again. “I just…I don’t know what I would do without you. Please don’t leave me, Alex. Please don’t leave me here on my own again.” She wiped some more tears from her cheeks with the back of her hand. “I’d be lost and broken without you so…so I’m going to need you to wake up soon, okay? You can rest for a little while longer and get some beauty sleep, but sooner rather than later I’m going to need you to wake up Princess. Okay? I just…” she leaned over the bed so that her face was hovering over Ali’s shoulder. “I just think I’m in love with you and I need you to wake up so I can tell you that in person,” she whispered sweetly into her ear before planting a kiss on her forehead.

The shuffle of feet behind her broke her from her trance and she quickly whipped around to find Kyle with an older man and woman who she correctly assumed were Ali’s parents. As she looked up at them with a sad smile she followed the older man’s eyes down, and quickly placed Ali’s hand, which she hadn’t even realized she was still holding, back on the bed. “Uh…hi. I’m Detective Harris, Ali’s partner,” she quickly recovered and closed the gap between them with an extended hand.

“Ken Krieger and this is Deb,” the man said with a deep voice as he firmly shook Ashlyn’s hand and eyed her up and down.

“I’ll leave you all alone,” Ashlyn answered meekly after shaking Deb’s hand too. “Please let me know if I can do anything.” She was about to turn and walk out of the room when she heard someone mumble something under their breath.

When she turned around to ask, she was met with a glare and really wished she would have just kept walking.

“Debra, that’s enough,” Ken scolded, but the woman pushed his hand down and took a step towards Ashlyn.

“I said, what you can do is explain how a task force you were leading ended up with my baby girl getting shot. What kind of an operation do you run around here, Detective Harris?”

“Uhhh…” Ashlyn could feel her cheeks getting hot. She certainly blamed herself, but having Ali’s mother hot on her trail made the pain and guilt even more evident.

“You can’t even answer for your actions? Well this seems like a frequent occurrence for you, doesn’t it?”

Ashlyn’s face dropped, she was completely shocked at what the woman was insinuating.

“That’s right. Don’t think I don’t know about what happened to your last partner. It seems everyone around you gets burned, but you keep walking right out of the fire!” Deb hissed while angrily pointing an accusatory finger at Ashlyn’s chest.

Heat was burning through Ashlyn’s veins and she could feel her chest constricting. She wanted to scream and stick up for herself, but the woman had a point. It seemed the destruction followed her. “I’m sorry ma’am,” was all she mumbled before she backed out of the room and turned so they wouldn’t see the tears begin to fall.

“Enough Deb! You had no right!” Ken challenged. He knew his wife was scared and angry, but she was directing that hatred in the wrong place. “We’re all here for Ali and that type of nonsense talk won’t do any good.”

That’s the last words Ashlyn heard from the room before she rounded the corner and slumped to the floor, tugging her knees to her chest. She stayed in that position for what felt like hours, but was only a few minutes until she felt someone nudging her leg with their foot. She lifted her head from the solitude of the darkness of her knees and looked up to meet a familiar face.

“Hey. I just want to apologize for what my mom said. She’s scared like the rest of us and just doesn’t deal with it the best. She tends to take it out on the wrong people.”

“Sounds like another Krieger woman I know,” Ash managed to joke as Kyle slid down the wall to take a seat next to her.

“Yeah my sister is a difficult woman,” he chuckled. “You’ve got your hands full with that one,” he commiserated.

Ashlyn sighed and couldn’t fight the small smile that crept over her lips as she thought back on Ali’s feistiness. “Yeah, but it’s totally worth it,” she mumbled, not realizing until too late that she said it out loud. She looked over at Kyle who was sporting a large, amused grin of his own.

“So how long have you been in love with my sister?” he challenged with a raised eyebrow as he looked to get the details his sister had left out.

“Wha…what?” Ash stuttered when she was caught off guard by the question.

“Have you told her yet?”

“Told…told her what?” She was still stumbling through her words and trying to regain her composure.

“Told her that you loved her. Are we really going to play this game?” His grin grew wider as Ashlyn’s cheeks grew redder.

She dipped her eyes down and began digging her toe into the ground nervously. “I…uh…I haven’t told her yet. I think…as bad as this sounds…I think that the possibility of losing her is what made me realize how special she is to me. I obviously cared for her, but this,” she lifted her arms and pointed to the hospital surrounding them, “this made me really see that I don’t think I can go on without her.”

“Well when she wakes up, make sure you tell her that,” Kyle said with a nod.

“I will,” Ash replied confidently.

“And seriously, don’t worry about my mom. She didn’t mean it and I’m sure she’ll be looking for you at some point to apologize.”

The mood in the air shifted as Ashlyn began fidgeting again. “She has nothing to apologize for.”

“Huh?” The statement caught Kyle off guard and he shifted so that he was looking into Ashlyn’s eyes and hoping that he had heard incorrectly.

“She has nothing to apologize for. She’s right. I let my anger control my actions and even though I was outnumbered I took a risk. Ali being the amazing person she is was right by my side and now look at where we are. This is my fault, Kyle and I don’t know if I can ever forgive myself for that.”

Kyle could see the evidence of guilt and sorrow on the blonde’s face and he wrapped his arm around her to pull her into a side hug. “Don’t ever say that again,” he stated firmly. “This is no one’s fault but Mendez and I know you’re going to make him pay for this. Ali needs you. She needs you to be strong and be there for her and you can’t do that if you’re beating yourself up about something that isn’t your fault.” When Ashlyn didn’t answer, he asserted himself some more. “Okay, Harris?”

“Okay,” she mumbled into his shoulder.

“Now come on. Let’s go back and check on our favorite girl.”

Ashlyn nodded and let Kyle help her up. They walked a few steps and she took a deep, settling breath before stepping back into the room.


	28. Beauty Sleep

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm backkk!! As much as it sucks to be back in cold, Buffalo, at least you guys will get regular updates again! Thanks for putting up with my little hiatus and now we get to the good stuff :)

“Anything new?” Ashlyn asked as she stepped into the room. She yawned and put her hand over her mouth politely to cover it while she waited for an answer.

“She’s still in the same condition,” Kyle mumbled as he looked up at Ashlyn with tired eyes.

“Where are your parents?” She walked over and plopped down in the chair on the opposite of Ali’s bed. She was secretly thankful she hadn’t encountered Deb yet this morning. There wasn’t enough coffee in the world to prepare her for that encounter again.

Kyle chuckled when he read the blonde’s mind. “Don’t worry. They’re getting breakfast downstairs. I’m actually about to head down to help them with stuff so you get her all to yourself,” he nodded towards his sister. He didn’t want any breakfast and certainly didn’t want to leave the room, but he was certain that Ashlyn would appreciate a few minutes alone before his mother arrived and she nervously retreated to the corner of the room.

“Thanks,” she replied with a smile.

“Want anything?” Kyle stopped at the doorframe and called over his shoulder.

“No thanks. I’m good.”

Ashlyn heard his footsteps pick up again and knew that she was alone. She reached across the bed and took Ali’s limp hand in her own. It felt warm, which reassured her yet again that Ali was still alive, still here, she was just fighting to get back to them. “Hey princess,” she whispered as if Ali could actually hear her. “How are you feeling? I’m really starting to miss that gorgeous smile and cute laugh of yours. I know I told you to take your time and get some beauty sleep, but after three days you’re looking pretty gorgeous, so maybe you could wake up soon? I miss you so much and I just wish I could take all your pain away and make you better.”

A few tears dripped down Ashlyn’s cheek and dropped onto the blanket that was covering her partner’s torso. She turned her head away so that Ali couldn’t see her cry and with her sleeve she wiped them back. After a few deep breaths she turned back to Ali’s face, letting her eyes trace over every distinct feature. She allowed herself to really study the face of the women she had come to love. Sure she had looked deeply at her before, but this was something different. Ali was in a vulnerable, yet peaceful state and Ashlyn couldn’t pull her eyes away.

With the hand that wasn’t holding Ali’s hand she tucked a few loose strands of hair behind her ear and then let her thumb begin to trace the profile of her face. She ran it up her cheek and then gently over her forehead, letting it slowly graze the bridge of her nose that was so often crinkled in a grin. She ran her thumb back and forth over her lips a few times, and really let herself take in every inch of her radiant beauty.

When she couldn’t take it anymore she leaned in and placed a tender kiss to Ali’s still lips. “Everyone is here waiting for you Princess and I know they would love to see you wake up just as much as me. You brother is here. I like him, he’s really cool. And your mom and dad flew in too. Your dad seems really nice too and he’s given me a few hugs. It almost reminds me of when my dad was still around to give me hugs.” She wiped another drop of saltwater from her cheek. “Your mom is here too, but I’m pretty sure she hates me. I can tell she loves you so much and is just protecting you, but I think you need to get up and protect me because she’s a little scary, “she whispered with a slight chuckle before getting serious again. “Alex, I love you so much. Please wake up soon so that I can spend the rest of my life showing you that.”

She pressed her eyes closed to stave off another round of tears when she heard a cough in the door behind her. She turned and met the cold eyes of Deb Krieger who was glaring at her with parsed lips. Ashlyn’s stomach immediately began to flip and she struggled to find words while she wondered how long the woman had been standing there.

“How long have you been standing there?” the blonde asked, embarrassed that she may have caught much if not all of what she was saying.

“Long enough,” she replied with an even tone.

“I…uh…I’m sorry. I’ll give you some alone time,” she nervously grumbled while quickly wiping the tears from her cheeks before taking a few steps towards the door.

She stopped when the older woman put her hand out and placed it on her chest, pushing her back a few steps so that their eyes could meet. “You love her?” she challenged with a serious look on her face.

Ashlyn sheepishly nodded. “Yes ma’am. I wish it was me in that bed. I really do.”

The woman nodded. “I’m sorry about what I said earlier. I’m just very protective of my little girl. It wasn’t fair to you and it’s obvious that you’re hurting just as much as the rest of us.”

A small smile forced its way onto Ashlyn’s lips at the woman’s apology. “I completely understand. Now I know where Ali gets it from.” She held her breath and waited for the woman’s reply and was pleased when she heard a small laugh fill the room. It reminded her of Ali’s. Yet another thing she gets from her mother.

“Well luckily for both of us, she gets her fighting spirit and strength from her father.” She placed a hand on Ashlyn’s upper arm and gave it a slight squeeze. “She’ll come back to us dear. I know my Alex.”

“I know she will too,” Ashlyn smiled, feeling some semblance of comfort for the first time in days.

Just then the boys arrived back at the room with coffees and an assortment of breakfast sandwiches. Ashlyn’s eyes lit up at the sight and her stomach began grumbling on cue.

Deb let out a laugh at both the men’s reactions to her and Ashlyn peacefully cohabitating and at Ashlyn’s stomach gurgle. “Why don’t you go grab something to eat downstairs. We can’t have both of you girls this fragile,” she replied and patted Ashlyn’s arm gently. “We’ll let Alex get just a little more beauty rest,” she added with a wink.

Ashlyn turned a deep shade of red and knew she had been caught giving her little pep talk to Ali. “Of course,” she managed with a genuine smile. “Please let me know if anything changes.”

“Of course, Ashlyn. Hurry back. You’re welcome to join us in here as long as you’d like.”

The blonde smiled graciously before nodding at the men and making her way down to the cafeteria. She had her wallet out and was waiting to pay for her sausage, egg and cheese sandwich when her phone began to ring. It was an unknown number and she picked it up excitedly knowing it had to be the Krieger’s. “Is she awake?!” she yelled eagerly into the mouthpiece.

“If you don’t lay off Mendez we’ll be sure you never take another breath,” came a harsh breath from the other end of the line.

Before she could respond, the line went dead. She just stared at it in shock. She was a Police Detective and sure she had been threatened before, but this was something different. This was personal and both her and Mendez knew it.

The cashier coughed and when Ashlyn looked up she realized he was holding his hand out expectantly for her payment. She was holding up a line of grumbling customers.

“Sorry,” she rushed out and began to look for a five dollar bill in her wallet when her phone rang again. Another unknown number. “What the hell do you want?” she angrily asked. She was not in the mood to be toyed with.

There was a brief pause on the other end as the called debated something. “Ashlyn?”

“Who is this?” she asked the unfamiliar voice.

“It’s Kyle…ALI’S AWAKE!”


	29. Who Is That?

Ashlyn left the cashier standing there speechless as she took off sprinting towards Ali’s room. She didn’t even bother with the elevator, instead quickly sprinting up the seven flights of stairs and taking the steps two at a time with her long gait. She rushed down the hallway, dodging nurses and other visitors before finally sliding to a halt outside the room. Panting, she looked up at Kyle who was leaning against the wall nervously fiddling with the strings on his hoodie.

“Why aren’t you in there?” she asked between gasps for air.

He looked back up at her, the corner of his lips curling slightly. “Geeze aren’t cops supposed to be in shape?” he teased as he looked the blonde up and down, noting how she was bent over with her hands on her knees and struggling to breathe. “I guess it is true that all cops are out of shape and just eat lots of donuts, huh?”

When Ashlyn realized he was joking she lightly punched him in the arm. “You’re an ass. So…why aren’t you in there?” she nodded towards the room.

“I got booted out,” he said with an eye roll towards a nurse who was glaring at him through narrowed eyes. “Only two in the room at a time before they can make sure everything is good. I’m just waiting for my parents to finish up so I can see her.”

Right on cue, Deb and Ken stepped out of the room, both with tears of joy in their eyes and were followed out by a doctor. Ken escorted his wife out into the hallway with a hand on her lower back and nodded to the two patiently waiting outside. “She’s doing well. As good as can be expected,” he said confidently. “She might have some slight memory issues, but those should be resolved in time.

“I’m going to head in then,” Kyle spoke up after peeling himself out of a hug that his mother had wrapped him up in. “You coming?” he turned his attention to Ash.

“I’ll let you go first,” she responded weakly. She wanted nothing more to rush into the room, but was trying her best to be respectful to her family. Hopefully, these people were going to become a staple in her life if things went well with Ali.

“No need to be polite around here,” he laughed. “Let’s go,” he ordered and grabbed her arm to drag her into the room.

Ashlyn obliged, but slowed her pace to allow Kyle to approach her first. She could tell how excited and nervous he was and wanted to watch their interaction so she hung back along the hallway wall.

“Hey babygirl,” Kyle spoke softly as he leaned over the bed and wrapped his arms around his little sister. “How’s my favorite girl?”

Ashlyn’s heart nearly melted when she saw a tiny smile creep over Ali’s lips as her brother pulled back from the hug and placed a light kiss on her forehead.

“I’m okay,” she whispered, her voice still not fully recovered. “I’m just glad you guys don’t have to worry about me anymore.”

“We’ll always worry about you, Alex,” he chuckled and felt the room lighten when Ali laughed along with him. It seemed like she was the same old Ali as before which made him smile. Her eyes were fighting to stay awake and Kyle knew he didn’t have much more time before she drifted off. He grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze, “Hey, Al, there’s someone else here to see you.”

Ashlyn couldn’t force the smile off her face when she saw Ali’s face light up in anticipation and she quickly stepped toward the brunette, taking her hand from Kyle’s. “Hey beautiful,” she said quietly through a smile as she looked down at Ali lying in the bed.

Ali’s face scrunched up a bit and she looked to Kyle in confusion and then back to Ashlyn. “Who…who are you?” She looked back to her brother who appeared to be in shock as well and whispered, “Kyle who is that?”

In that brief moment, Ashlyn felt her world crashing down. Ali didn’t remember her. Her stomach immediately twisted into knots and she felt her heart freeze in her chest. “I…I’m…Ash-”

“Ashlyn Harris, my partner in the narco unit that also happens to be incredibly sexy?” she chided, a large smile splashing across her face as she used all of her remaining energy and pulled a stunned Ashlyn down by her hand and planted a kiss on her lips.

The room seemed to freeze and Ashlyn stumbled through all of her emotions when she pulled back and stood in an upright position. The wolf-whistle from Kyle didn’t help the processing as she looked down at the smirking brunette. “Are you serious right now, Alex?” she half-heartedly laughed while she waited for her heart to start beating again. “That was not funny!”

“That was payback,” she grinned through half open eyes that were losing the battle to stay open.

“You’re going to be the death of me woman,” Ashlyn said and shook her head before planting a kiss on her cheek as Kyle snickered behind her.

They watched as Ali’s eyes closed and her head fell to the side a bit, signaling that she had fallen asleep again. The doctors said she would be in an out for the first few hours and to not expect too much interaction. Luckily, all of her brain functioning seemed to be intact.

“Wow who knew my sister had it in her,” Kyle said with an amused grin as he watched the interaction before him.

Ashlyn just groaned and took a few steps back to where Kyle was standing to admire her from afar. “You have no idea,” she replied with a laugh. “She drives me crazy!”

“You and me both sister,” Kyle sympathized. “So what payback was she referring to?” he asked out of curiosity.

A small laugh erupted from Ashlyn when she pinpointed exactly what it was. “Don’t worry about it,” she responded as her cheeks flushed a bit.

“Ew. Gross. That’s my little sister!” He feigned disgust while lightly punching Ashlyn in the arm.

His reply only made Ashlyn laugh harder as she thought back to the morning Ali declared that she would exact revenge.

_“Take a picture, Harris. It’ll last longer,” Ali teased as she crossed the room to grab her clothes that were laid out on the bed._

_“Ohh Officer Krieger’s got jokes!” Ash replied with a laugh as she playfully blocked Ali’s path to the bed so she could admire the brunette for a while longer._

_“And Detective Harris apparently likes me a lot better without clothes on,” Ali surmised while she gave up on clothes for the moment and wrapped her arms around Ashlyn’s waist to pull her closer._

_“Yeah that’s what it is,” Ashlyn replied as Ali began running kisses down her exposed neck._

_“I know. You can’t help it that I’m so irresistible,” Ali chided as she pushed her hips up into Ashlyn’s earning herself a moan from the blonde._

_“We have to be at work in half an hour, Krieger. We have the Mendez stakeout tonight.”_

_“You don’t take that long,” came a teasing response from the brunette._

_“Yeah, but…”_

_Ali pushed Ashlyn back with a palm on her chest. “Are you really going to say no to this?” she asked huskily and ran her fingers down her stomach and right over her clit._

_“Well…”_

_“What is it, Harris? Don’t tell me now that we’re going back to real life and work that you’re starting to doubt this.”_

_Ashlyn could tell how angry Ali had just gotten which was not her intention. She wanted to diffuse the situation, but knew the alternative wasn’t going to go over very well now. “That’s not it, Ali…” she stated to buy herself some more time._

_“Then what?” Ali huffed._

_Seeing her fired up, spurred Ashlyn on. “Well…you just…you might need that half an hour to apply enough makeup to cover up that hickey. If not…good luck getting that by the guys!” she laughed._

_“The WHAT?” Ali challenged and instinctively lifted her hand up to rub her neck._

_A smile involuntarily crept over Ashlyn’s lips as she could sense Ali panic. This was the wrong response as Ali’s eyes darkened and she sprinted to the bathroom. “Ashlyn Michelle! I swear I’m going to get you back for this!”_

 

“Let’s just say that your sister is one of a kind,” Ashlyn finally responded with a laugh as she cautioned a glance to Kyle.

“You’re definitely right about that,” he smiled. “And don’t you ever forget it!” he added, poking a playful finger at her chest.

“I couldn’t even if I tried,” Ash sighed contentedly as she looked back at the sleeping brunette.


	30. Worth the Wait

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I didn't get to post last night. Got called in to sub for a few soccer games so I was out all night. Here's a slightly longer chapter to make up for it. Hope you enjoy ;)

“She’s asking for you, Ash,” Kyle stated as he ran into Ashlyn in the hall. 

She had been giving the Krieger family some time alone together since Ali had woken up and was more alert. 

Kyle could sense her hesitation and he planted a hand on her shoulder. “My parents and I are going to grab some lunch so you two can have some alone time to talk.”

Ashlyn finally snapped from her thoughts and walked into the room, pausing to compose her thoughts before she approached Ali.

“Hey,” came a weak voice from across the room.

Ashlyn brought her head up to meet a soft, brown eyed gaze and a smile immediately crossed her face. “Hey beautiful.” She took a few more steps into the room and closed the gap between them. Once she reached the edge of the bed she reached out and gently took Ali’s hand in her own. “I thought I had lost you,” she confessed with a voice laden of sorrow.

“Never,” Ali whispered as she placed her other hand on top of Ashlyn’s.

Ashlyn brought Ali’s hands up and pressed her lips to them before laying them back down. “How are you feeling?” she asked as she scooted the chair closer to the bed and plopped down in it, still not removing Ali’s hands from her grasp.

“I’ve been better,” she replied with chuckle, but winced when she tried to sit up a bit more.

Seeing her partner in pain made Ashlyn cringe, especially knowing it was her fault. She dropped her gaze and Ali could sense the change in her mood immediately.

“Ash…it’s not your fault.”

Her voice was filled with understanding and sincerity, but Ashlyn couldn’t believe it, couldn’t forgive herself. “Don’t try to make me feel better. We both know it’s my fault you’re in here,” she spoke quietly, still not meeting the brunette’s gaze.

Ali squeezed her hand with the strength she could muster, knowing the struggle the blonde was going through. “It’s not your fault, Harris. We we’re both doing our jobs. You can’t blame yourself for this.”

“How can I not? I shouldn’t have tried to take him on. My hatred and anger controlled me and I put both of us in danger. Look at you, Al,” she said and pointed to the machines that Ali was connected to. “Look at what I did to you...” her voice trailed off as well as her gaze.

Ali’s voice grew firm, “Mendez did this, not you.”

Just hearing his name sent shivers up Ashlyn’s spine, reminding her of everything Mendez had already taken from her, and what she had almost lost a few days prior. “Yeah well destruction just seems to follow me. I’m sorry you got mixed up in all of this,” she meagerly offered. It was breaking her heart, but she knew Ali would be better off without her and her baggage.

“Ash, please don’t do this.” Ali’s tone was almost begging and she knew that Ashlyn was trying to push her away.

The desperation in her voice finally caused Ashlyn to lift her eyes from the floor. She looked up at Ali who had a single tear rolling down her cheek, but she was still the most beautiful woman she had ever seen.

“Please don’t push me away.” There was even more desperation in her voice as she gripped Ashlyn’s hand, refusing to let her pull it away. “I need you and I know that you need me too.”

It was a statement they both knew was true and Ashlyn couldn’t fight it anymore. She broke down, dropping her head onto the mattress and sobbed as Ali ran her fingers through her blonde hair. “I’m so sorry, Alex. I’m so sorry. I don’t think I can ever forgive myself. He…he got away again and I feel like he’s always two steps ahead of me. I just want him to get what he deserves. I would have died if he took you from me too,” she managed to get out through her cries. “I was so scared, Alex.”

Ali just held her head, wishing she had the ability to get up and hold Ashlyn tight to her chest, and whispered, “Shhh it’s okay, Ash,” over and over until her uncontrollable cries finally faded and silence filled the room again. “We’re going to get him, Ash. The doc said in a few months I can be back with the force. I promise you that we will get him.”

Ashlyn brought her eyes up to meet Ali’s reassuring gaze. She didn’t know what came over her in that moment, but she couldn’t help herself from saying the words she couldn’t bring herself to say before. “I love you, Alex.” A small smile formed on the corner of her lips, both proud and shocked that she was able to say it. “And I mean, that thought terrifies me, that I could love someone enough to put my heart back out there after everything it’s suffered, but when I thought I lost you…when I thought you were…I just…I couldn’t imagine having you leave this Earth without knowing exactly how I felt.” When she didn’t respond, Ashlyn began to panic, thinking she had crossed some unspoken line that had been drawn in the sand between them. Ali’s face remained unchanged, but she looked like she was thinking hard about something. “I uhh…I’m sorry. You don’t have to say it back. I just needed you to know,” she said sadly before averting her eyes to avoid the awkwardness.

“Can I be honest with you about something?” Ali asked shyly as she waited for the blonde to meet her eyes again.

_Oh boy here it comes. She’s going to tell me she doesn’t feel the same._ “Of course,” Ash brought herself to say. “You can always tell me anything.” She tried to sound more reassuring, but knew she failed miserably.

“I have this weird feeling that that’s not the first time I’ve heard you say that.”

Ashlyn’s jaw dropped a bit. Although she was disappointed that Ali hadn't reciprocated her words, she couldn’t believe what the brunette was insinuating. “It’s not…” she said quietly.

“I know this might sound crazy…” her voice wavered as she lost her confidence, but Ashlyn gave her hand a slight squeeze to encourage her to continue. “When I was asleep here, I…I heard your voice. I couldn’t see you or feel you physically, but it was like I knew you were here. I could hear your voice and you encouraging me to wake up. I know it sounds crazy,” she finally finished and her cheeks turned a bit red.

“No. It’s not crazy. I was here and I was asking you to wake up for me and everyone else. Deep down, I felt like you could really hear me.”

Ali finally smiled. “It was so weird. I could hear you and all I wanted to do was wake up. I kept trying to, but my body wouldn’t let me.”

“You were worth the wait,” Ashlyn responded with a wink and dimpled grin.

“Well all I wanted to do was wake up and tell you that I loved you too,” Ali said with a bright smile.

Ashlyn couldn’t help the smile that finally reached her eyes. She leaned over and softly kissed Ali’s lips. “That was worth the wait too,” she said as she smiled against Ali’s lips.

Just as she pressed her lips to Ali’s there was a loud series of bangs on the door.

“FREEZE! THIS IS THE POLICE!” came a voice from outside.

Ali and Ashlyn ripped apart as fast as they could, causing Ali to curse at the pain that rippled through her abdomen. The drugs had definitely started to wear off and she was getting a taste of how much pain she would be in while she recovered.

“KRIEGER! HARRIS!” came a familiar voice from behind them.

“Hey guys!” Ali said with as much cheerfulness and possible considering the pain she was in. “Thanks for coming,” she added as she waved Brody, Rodgers and some of the other guys into the room.

“We would have come earlier, but Harris wouldn’t let anyone near the room. I guess she wanted to wait until you were awake so we’d still think of you as our little warrior,” Brody chided as he gave Ash a playful punch on the shoulder and then leaned down to press a kiss to Ali’s cheek.

The rest of the guys filled in behind him to do the same, setting their flowers and cards down on the shelf in the room after they gave Ali their hugs.

“So how are you feeling, Kriegs?” asked Rodgers before handing her a little stuffed teddy bear dressed in a police uniform.

Ali hugged the bear tightly to her chest and smiled, grateful for the love and support she was getting. “I’m alright. I think these drugs are wearing off though so I might start to get cranky soon,” she said with a chuckle to which the rest of the room started laughing.

“Well when that happens we’ll leave you with Harris so she gets to deal with it!” teased Velasquez.

“Yeah it’ll be like the first few weeks of our partnership all over again,” Ash mumbled under her breath.

Brody reached out and smacked the back of her head and Ali simply shot him a big grin. “Thanks, Brody. She definitely deserved that,” Ali said with a laugh.

Ashlyn glared at Brody and rubbed the spot on the back of her head where he playfully swatted her. “That hurt!” she grumbled, but didn’t make a big scene about it.

“You deserved it, Harris!” he responded with a chuckle and winked at Ali who just kept smiling.

“So when do we get to see your beautiful face back at the station?” Rodgers asked the question everyone was wondering.

“A few months and I should be back. Promise me you guys won’t make a move on Mendez until then?” she teased, knowing full well that if they had a chance they would have to take it.

“Oh don’t worry. We’ll save a few shots for you,” responded Detective Hill.

“Any word on him?” Ali got serious, knowing these guys would be honest where Ashlyn might try to protect her emotional state.

“Gone like the wind,” Brody hummed out.

“We’ll find him though. Harris hasn’t lost a man yet,” Rodgers said with an elbow to her ribs. “Right, Ash?”

“Right. He’ll get his,” she coldly stated.

“Anyways did you guys hear about that new rookie class of cops that just came in?” came a voice from the back of the room.

Everyone turned around to hear the story about how one of the rookie’s was handcuffed by his own cuffs during an arrest gone wrong and the whole room broke out into laughter. They continued sharing stories off and on and both Ashlyn and Ali were glad for the distraction.

Half an hour later there was a knock on the door. “Ali, honey, the nurse was wondering if now was a good time to come give you your pain medication?” her mother asked after taking a few steps into the room. “Oh hello, gentlemen!” she said sweetly when she noticed the room was full of burly police officers.

Brody was the first to speak. He stood up and walked over, outstretching his hand to shake her. “And you must be Mrs. Krieger. I just wanted to tell you that it is an honor working with your daughter,” he said sincerely. So sincerely, that it almost made Ashlyn throw up, especially when she saw how smitten Deb was with him and compared that to her first meeting with Ali’s mother.

“Well thank you dear. And thank you all for keeping her safe. I know she’s in good hands.”

Ashlyn went around and introduced everyone to Deb before settling back down in the chair beside Ali’s bed. After talking for a few minutes with everyone, Deb turned back to Ali. “Would you like me to send the nurse in or should I wait so you can spend a bit more time with your visitors?”

“I’m actually starting to really feel it,” she said sincerely.

“Hey let’s head out boys!” Rodgers stated and everyone stood up and said their goodbyes, making sure to get a nice hug from Deb before they scuttled out of the room.

“I’ll go get the nurse then?” asked Deb when everyone had cleared out.

She turned to leave, but Ali spoke up. “I’ll send Ash in a few. I actually needed to talk to her about…uh…about this case before they drug me up again.”

Deb nodded knowingly before heading out of the room.

Ashlyn watched her leave and then turned back to Ali who was simply looking back up at her with a smile. “What do you need to talk to me about princess?”

“I don’t.”

“But…”

She was cut off by two of Ali’s fingers on her lips. “I just wanted to be with you,” she stated cutely as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Will you lay with me?” she asked and pointed to the exposed sliver of the bed.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Alex,” she said with a shake of her head. The last thing she wanted was to try to cram into the bed and injure her even more.

“Please?”

The puppy dog eyes, begging tone and pouty lip were too much for Ashlyn to fight. “Alright, alright.” She helped Ali gingerly scoot over to give her enough room and then carefully scooted in the bed next to her. “Just a minute, okay?”

“Mhmmm,” hummed Ali as she laid her head on Ashlyn’s chest.

They laid there for a few minutes in silence, the only noise their beating hearts and steady breaths. It was peaceful, something they hadn’t had in a while, and neither of them realized until it was too late that they drifted off to sleep, wrapped in each other’s arms.


	31. Doctors Orders

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this slightly coincides with real life and Ali being released from the hospital and all but I wrote this Friday before it all happened. Still posting it since I want to keep up with my post a day, but I really hope Ali has a quick recovery!!!

“Anything else doc?” Ashlyn asked as the nurses helped Ali into a wheelchair. She was two weeks post-surgery and since there were no complications they were letting her go home, albeit under watchful eyes.

“Just remember no physical activity until you come back at the end of the month for your follow up appointment. Think you can hold her to that, Detective Harris?” the Doctor asked with a knowing look.

“Yes, sir. She will be obeying all of your orders,” Ash said while shooting Ali a challenging glance. “Thank you again for everything,” she said, extending her hand to shake the doctor’s firmly. “We really appreciated everything.”

“No problem. We’ll have you back out there fighting crime in no time, Officer Krieger.” The doctor gave Ali a warm, encouraging smile before nodding to the nurse that she was good to go.

The nurse pushed Ali out in the wheelchair while Ash rushed ahead to pull the car around. She pulled up at the entrance just as the nurse was rolling her out of the automatic doors at the front of the hospital. Ashlyn quickly jumped out and ran around to open the passenger door and helped Ali gingerly step into the vehicle.

“Jesus, Ash could this thing be any higher off the ground?” she asked through gritted teeth. “What the hell!”

No offense was taken to her tone because Ashlyn knew she was in serious pain. “Sorry princess. It’s the best I could do,” she said with a shrug.

Realizing she was being a bit harsh Ali looked over with apologetic eyes as she slowly shut the passenger door and make her way back to the driver’s side. “Sorry.”

After giving Ali’s hand a reassuring squeeze Ash brought it up to her lips and kissed her knuckles. “It’s okay. Let’s just get out of here before they change their minds!” she joked to lighten the mood. “Hold on tight!”

Ali rolled her eyes as Ashlyn pretended to peel out of the parking lot, but really just made the screeching noises herself because she didn’t want to risk hurting her partner. “You are a child,” she said with a laugh and was unable to fight the smile that curled up her lips.

The Detective just shot her a devilish grin. “Well I just so happen to be the child that is in charge of your recovery so you may want to think twice before you make fun of Nurse Ashlyn.”

Ali burst out laughing, but immediately clutched her stomach in pain. “Nurse…Ashlyn?” she was able to get out through laughs and grunts of pain. “Oh my god that is priceless.”

The blonde feigned being offended and turned her gaze to the road, sticking out her lower lip in an attempt to get Ali to stop laughing at her.

“Awww, don’t be sad Nurse Ashlyn,” she said like she was cooing a baby while she placed her hand on Ashlyn’s knee.

When she started to slide it up her leg with a suggestive grin, Ashlyn clamped her hand down on it and shot her a challenging look. “No. Physical. Activity.” She enunciated every word and became thoroughly amused when Ali groaned in annoyance.

“This is going to be the worst month ever!”

“I wouldn’t go that far,” Ash said as a smile returned to her face. “You get to come live with me for a month and I don’t know if you’re aware, but I’m pretty awesome.”

Ali rolled her eyes. “Whatever you say Harris.”

A comfortable silence settled between them giving Ali time to really think about what was happening. Ashlyn had not only stayed with her at the hospital long after her family had to return home, but she had also eagerly opened up her house to Ali for her recovery so that she didn’t have to go to a rehab facility. She claimed it was just because she knew how bad the food was and didn’t want Ali to lose her “fine ass” if she didn’t eat, but they knew there was more to it than that. Ali had been there during her times of need and Ashlyn was as fiercely loyal as they came. Well at first Ali felt guilty, after persistent insistence by the stubborn blonde, she gave in. Really they both knew she would, it was just a matter of time.

Ali finally broke the silence. “Thank you again for doing this for me. I honestly don’t know what I’d have done without you, Ash.”

“Well for starters let’s not forget that if it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t be in this mess,” Ash replied with a nonchalant shrug.

For the moment, Ali let it go. She let Ashlyn think she had convinced her that it was guilt behind her actions and not something more. Since they had confessed they loved each other, they hadn’t had any other serious talks, or even discussed what it really meant or what they were. They just decided to go with the flow and see where it took them.

“Well whatever your reasoning, thank you.”

Ashlyn looked over and could see so much in Ali’s eyes; admiration, gratefulness and maybe, just maybe a hint of love.

“Hey we’ve been through this before,” she said and gently set her hand on Ali’s knee. “You’ve got my six and I’ve got yours. Right, Krieger?”

“Right.”

A few minutes later they pulled into Ashlyn’s driveway and she went around to the passenger side to help Ali out. With the height of the Jeep and the tenderness of her incision, Ash basically carried her out of the car and into the house, setting her down gently on her bed. After she brought back in Ali’s bags from the car and the suitcase her mother had packed for her from her apartment, she went around gathering everything to set up the perfect recovery spot for her. She grabbed the remotes and set them on the end table, along with a bottle of water, Gatorade and ginger ale and her phone and phone charger. She showed her how the remotes worked before heading into the kitchen to whip up some dinner.

She had just finished straining the pasta when she heard a yell from the other room. “ASH!”

Dropping the pasta pot in the sink she sprinted to her bedroom to see what had happened. “What’s wrong?!” she asked frantically as her eyes searched for the emergency.

Ali blushed a bit when she realized that Ashlyn had panicked. “I…um…I have to pee,” she said shyly.

Ashlyn let out a chuckle. “And since we’re not at the hospital there’s no nurses around to help you out with that, huh?” she asked while awkwardly rubbing the back on her neck.

“Yes there is.” When Ashlyn shot her a quizzical grin, Ali responded in a whisper, “Maybe you should call Nurse Ashlyn.”

The blonde let out another laugh and shook her head. “Oh Officer Krieger’s got jokes! Well maybe she can wait a little more to go to the bathroom,” Ash teased and turned to walk out and keep her joke up.

“Wait! No! I’m sorry!” Ali yelled through her laugh.

Ashlyn turned around, but wasn’t ready let it go yet. She was having too much fun playing this game. “And?”

“And what?” Ali shot her a confused look.

“A simple I’m sorry isn’t going to cut it. I’m going to need you to work a little harder,” she added with a huge dimpled grin.

Ali groaned, but knew there was no way around it. “I’m sorry and you’re the sexiest officer in the whole department,” she grumbled under her breath but loud enough that Ash could hear it.

“I’m sorry…the sexiest what? I can’t be the sexiest officer…” Ash asked for clarification.

Realizing her mistake, Ali simply rolled her eyes. “The sexiest _Detective_ in the whole department.” She laughed internally at how cocky Ash was, but knew it turned her on even more.

Ashlyn walked back into the room and smiled as she helped Ali up from the bed and wrapped an arm around her waist to steady her. “Glad we cleared that up,” she said as they entered the bathroom. “I couldn’t be the sexiest officer in the department anyways, because you’ve got that title on lockdown beautiful.”

There she is. There’s the sweet Detective that I love.


	32. Cleared

“Hey beautiful.” Ash leaned over and brushed a few strands of loose hair out of Ali’s face before pressing a soft kiss to her temple.

“Mmmm,” Ali hummed as her tired eyes slowly began to open. She gingerly rolled over and slid her arm around Ashlyn’s waist. “How was work today baby?”

Ashlyn let her weight fully sink onto the bed once Ali had adjusted herself. “It was alright. That lead we had on Mendez turned out to be a dead end,” she said with a sigh. It had been almost two months since the incident and they still had no idea where he was and Ashlyn was getting extremely frustrated.

“You’ll find him,” Ali replied with a small, but confident smile as she gently rubbed her back.

“I hope so. He’s going to pay for what he did to my girl,” she grumbled.

“Oh so I’m your girl?” Ali teased and pulled away a bit to take in Ashlyn’s expression.

“Woman you’re asleep in my bed and have been living in my apartment for two months!” she said exasperatedly.

“Doctors orders!” Ali said in a sing-song voice.

“Alex, the doctor said you could move home a month ago,” she said with a small chuckle.

“I know…” Ali’s voice trailed back as she thought about the day she tried to move home. It lasted about two nights before the nightmares were so bad that she just showed up at Ashlyn’s one night with a bunch of suitcases and a puppy dog grin.

Ashlyn could sense the swift change in her mood and planted a kiss on her forehead before sitting up straight and leveling their eyes. “Hey,” she said as she raised Ali’s chin with her pointer, “you know you can stay here as long as you want.”

“I know. Thank you. I just…I feel safe here,” she replied with a warm smile to express the gratitude that her words were unable to convey. “I really do, Ash.”

“Well luckily you’re not the worst company,” Ash said teasingly and then quickly jumped back to avoid the slap she knew was coming. Ali was too quick though and caught her with a playful punch on the arm. “Well look who’s got their reflexes back!”

Ali just rolled her eyes, before getting serious. “You know what next week is, right?”

Ashlyn immediately froze in terror. Was it her birthday? Or some weird anniversary even though they weren’t technically dating? She decided to tread carefully, “Ummm…maybe?” she squeaked out, afraid of the answer.

Ali could tell Ashlyn was panicking and decided to have some fun with it. “Ash, this is a huge thing. You don’t remember?”

At this point, Ashlyn was literally beginning to sweat. Only Alexandra Krieger could strike this sort of fear into her heart. “Happy early birthday?” she softly whispered while saying a silent pair.

At this, Ali burst out laughing. “Really, Harris?” she asked rhetorically with an eye roll. “Next week I’m cleared to go back to work…”

If Ashlyn was scared before, now she was absolutely petrified. There was no way she would feel comfortable with Ali going back to work so soon. “Oh,” was all she was able to get out as she processed everything internally.

Apparently, this answer was not good enough for Ali, whose face immediately dropped, except for one raised eyebrow. “Oh? That’s all you have to say about me coming back? I’ve been working so hard towards this for two months, Ashlyn.”

The hurt on her face was evident, but Ashlyn couldn’t will herself to get over her own fears. She couldn’t imagine losing Ali or being in a situation even remotely similar to the one they went through. “I’m sorry. I know you have. It’s just so soon.”

“Ashlyn these things happen. I’m not going to give up my career because one thing went wrong. I thought…I thought you’d be happy to have me back,” she said with a sad sigh. She was disappointed that what she wanted so badly, seemed to be the exact opposite of what her partner wanted.

“Alex, that’s not it. I’ll obviously be glad to have you back by my side. It’s just…” She was trying to bring herself to say what was really scaring her, but she didn’t want to upset or worry Ali.

“It’s what, Ashlyn?” she asked sternly, fully sitting back on the headrest to get distance between them.

“I’m…I’m scared, Alex. I can’t imagine losing you again and I…I think it’s too soon. I know you’re not fully rehabbed.” It was true. She often watched Ali struggle with her lingering pain and flexibility when she thought Ashlyn wasn’t watching. Ali had been able to fool the doctors, but couldn’t put anything past the Detective who was watching her like a hawk.

“Are you kidding me?”

_Wrong answer._ Ashlyn tried to backpedal, while still maintaining her stance. “What? I don’t want anything to happen because you’re not ready!”

“Are you fucking serious?”

_Wrong answer, again._ “Yes…”

The burning look in Ali’s eyes told her once again that it was a terrible answer. She shrank back in fear as Ali inhaled a deep breath to ready herself for the tirade she was about to launch.

“You are aware that I got shot, right? Like a bullet penetrated my stomach and by some luck I managed not to die right then and there. Then I fought for my life to get out of a coma. And then I fought for another two months to get back into shape so that I can do my job. A job that I love. So that I can catch that asshole that put me in this situation. So sorry if I’m not ready to go ten rounds with Muhammed Ali, but I’m pretty sure I know whether or not I’m capable of doing my job!”

A wave of guilt immediately swept over Ashlyn. She knew everything Ali said was true and that it was her own fears that were causing her to have doubts. “I just don’t know if you’re ready to go back to work. I know you fought for this, but…”

Ali didn’t let her get to the but part, before cutting her off. She was furious and the words that came out were fueled by pure anger. “Someone has to do their job around here right?” she asked, glaring pointedly at Ashlyn. “How many times have you let Mendez escape?”

No more words were needed to finish the conversation. The look of pure shock and pain on Ashlyn’s face at those words was enough for Ali to know the conversation was over. That and the fact that Ashlyn ripped her keys off the dresser, stormed out of the house and slammed the door behind her.


	33. Partners?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahh World Cup roster comes out tomorrow! Hope both our girls are on it!!

Ali sat there for a moment, completely shocked. She hadn’t realized how much her words would hurt Ashlyn until it was too late and she saw the pained, twisted look on the blonde’s face as she quickly back peddled and fled from her own house. Quickly, she raced to the door to catch Ashlyn, but she was too slow. Ash had already peeled out of the driveway and was long gone. All Ali could see was the dust she had kicked up on the way out as she sunk down and pulled her knees to her chest. While part of what she had said was true, about being ready to go back to work, there was more that she shouldn’t have said. She sat there for a few minutes, before plodding back to the bedroom and grabbing her phone from the bedside table. After pushing the button to call Ashlyn she waited, but no one picked up. With a sigh she tossed the phone onto the bed and made her way into the kitchen. The least she could do was make some dinner for when Ashlyn decided to come back, if she decided to come back.

An hour later, as she was checking on the lasagna in the oven, Ali heard the front door open. She finished off her glass of wine knowing that it would help reduce the blow of Ashlyn’s words and then took a deep sigh. “Hey, Ash,” she said meagerly as she wandered into the living room where the blonde was unlacing her shoes.

Ashlyn didn’t look up, but mumbled a, “Hey,” while she pulled her shoes off and tossed them into the front hallway.

Ali bit back the urge to run over and carefully place them in the boot tray where they belonged. She knew it was Ashlyn’s way to irk her and decided to let it go, for the moment. “I made lasagna. It should be ready in a few minutes if you’re hungry.”

While Ali waited with baited breath for an answer, the blonde finally looked up and met her gaze. In that brief eye contact, Ali could immediately feel the hurt she had caused. Ash’s eyes were red from crying and she could tell that she looked defeated. Calling her out for not catching Mendez had been an extremely low blow and she knew it. Her anger often got a hold of her and being cooped up for two months with no release had only made her propensity to explode even worse. She took a few steps towards Ashlyn and dropped to her knees in front of her.

Ashlyn broke their eye contact and looked out over Ali’s shoulder as Ali placed her hands gently on the blonde’s knees.

“Ash I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean it,” she began before she was cut off.

With a huff, Ashlyn pushed up from the couch and took a few steps away to put some distance between them. “Yeah you did, Alex. We both know it’s true and that’s what makes this even harder. Mendez is still out there and it’s my fault that I didn’t take him down the first time. It’s my fault Walker is dead and that you almost died too.” She plopped onto the leather recliner and dropped her face into her palms. “I can’t protect you, Alex. I can’t protect you and that terrifies me. I can’t lose you.”

Ali could see that Ashlyn was beating herself up about something that wasn’t her fault, but was also completely unaware that Ashlyn had received a threat to stop looking for Mendez. She didn’t want to worry, Ali so she had kept that to herself. Besides, there was no way she would ever stop looking for Mendez, even if it meant risking her own life. She owed it to Walker to finish the job and nothing was going to get in her way.

“Ash,” Ali began softly as she took a few steps to again close the gap between them. “Ash, you need to stop blaming yourself for all of this. It’s my job and as much as I love how much you care about me, I can protect myself. I’ve been doing this job for a lot of years and I don’t know if you’ve noticed but I can kind of handle myself. Just ask, Oscar,” she said with a chuckle. She gently elbowed Ashlyn and could see the blonde crack a small smile.

“I’m just scared,” Ashlyn breathed out, although Ali could see that she had relaxed a bit.

“It’s okay to be scared, but I’m a big girl, Harris. I want to be there with you hunting down that asshole.”

Ashlyn looked up and met Ali’s reassuring gaze, almost getting lost in the comforting, deep brown eyes. “I know. And I want you there too,” she sighed. “I’ve missed you so much,” she quietly confessed.

“Aw, look at what a big softie Detective Harris is!” Ali chided with a wide grin.

The blonde just rolled her eyes and grabbed Ali’s wrist to pull her onto her lap. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Officer. I’m a badass,” she stated cockily.

“A cute, little badass,” Ali said and playfully kissed Ashlyn’s nose while she watched the blonde’s face harden.

“You can’t call me a cute badass, babe,” she said with a pout.

“Well then stop being so damn cute,” Ali said through her growing smile.

Just then the timer on the oven went off.

“Yes dinner is ready!” Ashlyn said and quickly stood up, dropping Ali to the ground in the process.

“ASHLYN!” the brunette said with a frown as she looked up at her from the ground.

“Sorry babe. I’d help you out, but apparently I have to prove that I’m a badass,” she said with a shrug.

“Well you’ll be a badass that never touches me again if you don’t help me up,” Ali responded sassily.

Ashlyn just smiled and rolled her eyes. She knew Ali probably couldn’t hold out on her even if she tried, but she wasn’t willing to take that change. “Fineee,” she groaned as Ali stuck her hand out for Ashlyn to help her out. Ash wasn’t giving in that easy though and simply bent over, lifted Ali up and threw her beautiful girl over her shoulder as she made her way to the kitchen, ignoring Ali smacking her back and shrieking to be put down.

After dinner they were settled back on the couch for some TV, Ali snuggled into Ashlyn’s side while Ash had one arm wrapped around her tightly as the other held a beer loosely.

“So next week, huh?” Ashlyn asked quietly.

Ali looked up at her and nodded. “Yes, Monday,” she answered plainly. She could see the wheels turning in Ashlyn’s head, but didn’t want to push her. Ashlyn didn’t respond initially though and Ali thought she was having doubts again. “Is…is that okay?”

“I guess,” Ashlyn shrugged. “I just got used to the peace and quiet and not having to listen to you sing all the time in the car,” she finally stated which earned her a laugh from Ali.

“Really, Harris?” she stated and poked Ash in the ribs.

“Really,” she said, turning to meet Ali’s eyes.

“Well,” she paused, letting the laughter die down, “all jokes aside, I’m excited to be back out there with you.”

“I know, Alex. I’ll be glad to have my partner back.”

“So we’re still partners?” Ali asked, a bit tepidly.

“Um…yeah?” Ashlyn was confused why Ali would even say that.

The brunette immediately sensed Ashlyn’s fears and quickly sat up, to set her straight. “Ash, I meant…I meant like the Lieutenant doesn’t know about…about us?”

“Oh,” Ash breathed out. “No. I didn’t think it was my right to tell our secret.” Though she hated hiding the fact that she was with Ali and had thought about coming clean, she didn’t want to lose her as a partner or lose her job.

“Good,” Ali said and snuggled back into Ashlyn’s side, putting the blonde’s mind at ease. “I just have to work on keeping my hands off of you,” she said with a giggle.

“Yeah that will be the hard part,” Ashlyn agreed as she turned her attention back to TV, missing the way Ali’s eyes had just darkened. “Good thing we don’t have a dashboard camera,” she joked before taking a swig of her beer.”

“Well, we’ve got the whole weekend,” Ali said as she ran the hand that was on Ashlyn’s knee up her inner thigh. “Maybe we’ll just have to try to get it all out of our system,” she said coyly.

Ashlyn breath caught in her throat when she felt Ali’s fingers graze the fabric of her shorts over her core. “Oh yeah?” she said as she pulled her eyes from the TV and met Ali’s hungry eyes.

“Yeah,” she said with a smirk as she ran her fingers back and forth, just underneath her partner’s waistband.

“And what exactly did you have in mind?” Ashlyn said as she sucked in a deep breath when she felt Ali’s fingers slip under the band of her underwear.

“Mmmmm I don’t know,” Ali purred, clearly enjoying the way Ashlyn was reacting to her touch. She could see the blonde’s skin had erupted in goosebumps and decided to push her even further. Although they had been intimate since Ali had gotten out of the hospital, Ali could tell Ashlyn was being careful with her. Not that she didn’t appreciate gentle, love making, but now she wanted more. She wanted rough, can’t-wait-a-moment-longer sex, and she was determined to finally get it. “All I know is that you’re really, really wet,” she whispered into Ashlyn’s ear as she slid her finger through her folds.

That sentence was all it took to spur Ashlyn into action. She quickly flipped their position so that she was hovering over Ali, with a dark, hungry look in her eyes as well. “Well then I think maybe we should do something about that, don’t you?” she asked cockily.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo the next chapter can go one of two ways... smut or actual story line...let me know what you guys want!! ;)


	34. Come Out to Play

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well since absolutely NONE of you wanted me to write smut, here's the next chapter. Haha...JK. It's all smut. Hope you enjoy and let me know if you want more!

The kiss heated up quickly between the two women. Ashlyn quickly flipped their positions so that she was hovering over Ali, their lips just a breath apart and he hands planted on either side of her head for support. She looked deep into Ali’s eyes and could see the radiating lust shining through the rings of light and dark brown that colored them. From her back, Ali could see the same in Ashlyn’s eyes and knew it wouldn’t take much to egg the blonde on.

She ran her hands up Ashlyn’s sides, smiling as she shuddered under her touch. With soft, gentle kisses starting at her hand which was conveniently placed next to her head, Ali made her up Ashlyn’s arm, kissing every inch of exposed skin. Ashlyn’s breath began to increase and Ali could tell that she was getting really worked up, especially when she took her time on her shoulder and lightly slid her tongue into the crook of her neck, only to begin sucking and biting with a bit more pressure. 

With one hand resting on the small of Ashlyn’s back, giving her no escape, her other hand, resting on Ashlyn’s chest, could feel the immediate reaction of her touch and her heartbeat began to race. Slowly, she raked her hand down Ashlyn’s chest and across her stomach down to where it ended. Ashlyn hoped she would keep going down, her skin burning with want under Ali’s touch, but the Officer just teased her, gently rubbing her fingers right where her shirt met her jeans before gradually working her way back up, this time underneath her shirt. 

Ashlyn let out a soft sigh at the contact as Ali ghosted her fingers up her stomach and then over Ashlyn’s nipples. At the small moan that escaped Ashlyn’s lips when she gently cupped her breast, Ali knew her plan was working. She wanted, raw, aggressive and rough Ashlyn tonight and the best way to do that was to get her worked up and then set her off. Judging by the soft sighs and ragged breath escaping from the Detective’s lips, she knew she was almost there. Ali smirked into the crook of her neck which she was still kissing and gently biting. She was definitely in for a long night and she didn’t mind one bit.

As Ali massaged her breast deeper, Ashlyn let out an even louder moan. That was it. That was the sign. She pushed Ashlyn’s hips down into her own with the hand that was resting on her back, and leaned up to nibble on her ear, finally whispering, “I want you to fuck me so good that I forget my name. Do you understand?”

Ashlyn quickly pulled her head back and met Ali’s eyes with a gulp. Her eyes were almost black and Ashlyn knew they were in for quite the night. She smirked and teasingly ground her hips down into Ali’s. Oh yeah, she knew exactly what Ali was doing. She knew exactly what her girl wanted and she was going to make sure she got it. With a nod she leaned in to capture Ali’s lips when a rough hand on her chest stopped her dead in her tracks. 

She looked back at Ali quizzically.

“I asked if you understood, Detective. Say it.”

Again, Ashlyn grinned, her dimple growing larger at the realization of what was happening. She absolutely loved when feisty Ali came out to play. It completely floored her every time. She leaned down and whispered in her ear, “I am going to fuck you so good that you can’t remember your name, baby.” Before she pulled away, she took it a step farther, letting Ali know she was game, “But I can promise you that our neighbors will know mine because you’ll be screaming it so loudly all night.”

With that, it was on. 

Ashlyn dropped her weight completely onto Ali’s, grinding their hips together as their lips locked in a hungry kiss. Their nerves erupted and it felt like every inch of their skin was on fire. It was hot. Too hot for clothes and while trying not to break the kiss, they fumbled to rip each other’s clothes off. Ali quickly slipped her fingers in the front of Ashlyn’s and ripped it apart at the buttons, helping the blonde strip it off over her shoulders before they turned their attention to her sports bra. Ali grinned wildly as she let her eyes rake over Ashlyn’s exposed torso, taking in every muscle, every tattoo, every rolling drop of sweat from their heated exchange. 

Ashlyn didn’t let that last long though, and quickly returned the favor, pulling off Ali’s t-shirt and sports bra in one motion. They hungrily stared at each other for a minute, eyes and hands wandering, until their lips couldn’t take being apart for any longer. 

With a wild desire, spurred on even more by Ali’s perfect, naked physique laying underneath her and the promise of mastering Ali’s challenge, she crashed her lips into Ali’s and forced her tongue inside. The battle for dominance was quickly won by an extremely turned on Detective and Ali eagerly relinquished control to her. She loved when Ashlyn took control of her and dominated her and it had been far too long since the last time in her opinion.

“Shorts off. Now,” Ashlyn demanded, while still kissing Ali’s lips. Even though shorts made easy access for teasing, Ashlyn was too far gone at this point. There would be no teasing, at least not the first round. She was going to give her girl exactly what she was looking for. 

As Ali turned her head to look down and scoot her shorts over her hips, Ashlyn took the opportunity to repay the favor and reigned kisses down on Ali’s exposed neck. Her skin exploded at sensation and she couldn’t fight the shudder that rippled through her body as Ashlyn ran her fingers up her now exposed thighs, ghosting over where Ali needed her the most.

“Ashlyn, please,” she begged. She knew Ashlyn loved when she begged for it as it reminded her even more that she was in complete control, that Ali had given her body to her completely.

Hearing Ali’s soft, pleading voice sent shivers down Ashlyn’s spine. As much as she wanted to show Ali that she was in control and wouldn’t give in so easily, she couldn’t deny her girl anything. She used her knees to spread Ali’s legs a bit, giving her more room to work while hungrily kissed Ali’s lips. 

Even though she was giving in, she knew she was still in control. She could tell just by the way Ali’s body was unconsciously reacting to her touch that she was in complete control. She ran her hands smoothly up Ali’s inner thigh, noting how her breath hitched and how her skin erupted in goose bumps. Just as she slid a finger into Ali’s center without warning, she bit down on her lip hard, earning her both a moan of pleasure and a hiss of pain.

The noise was unlike she had ever elicited from the brunette and she smirked as she felt Ali’s hips drive roughly into her hand, demanding more. 

“More, baby,” Ali mumbled as she rocked her hips back and forth into Ashlyn’s pumping hand.

“You’ll get more when I say you get more,” Ashlyn challenged, as she ran her tongue down Ali’s chest and began circling her nipple gently with the tip of her tongue, sporadically nipping at it to keep her on edge. She didn’t wait long though to slip another finger in and she could tell that Ali was already close after having been so worked up before they even started. 

“Ohhh fuck Ash. Don’t stop baby, I’m close,” Ali moaned out through her ragged breaths as Ashlyn used her hips to drive her fingers even harder and faster into Ali’s core. 

Ash already knew she was close and could feel Ali tightening around her fingers. She moved her lips back up to Ali’s and captured them, wanting to hear Ali moan her name into her mouth when she came.

“Ohhh you feel so good, Ash,” she moaned into Ashlyn’s mouth as she furiously bucked her hips with an untamed want to match Ashlyn’s thrusting. She clawed at the Detective’s back, desperately trying to get her closer to her and deeper in her. It was as if she couldn’t get close enough and even though Ash knew there would be scratches to show for it in the morning, she loved how wild she could drive Ali.

“Fuckkkkk baby,” Ali screamed again, this time when Ashlyn hooked her fingers and hit her in just the right spot to send her spiraling over the edge. Her eyes clamped shut and she could feel waves of euphoria washing over her body causing her whole body to tremble.

After helping Ali come down from her high, Ashlyn slipped her fingers out and was just about to lick them clean, when she felt Ali grab her wrist. The brunette propped herself up on her elbows and Ashlyn looked down at her with a smile, noting that she still looked a bit disoriented, but unable to ignore the sultry look Ali was flashing her way. Gently, she took Ashlyn’s hand and brought it to her mouth. She wrapped her lips around Ashlyn’s pointer finger and slowly slid down until she hit her knuckles.

Ashlyn let out a moan at the sight of her girlfriend sucking her fingers clean. “Fuckkk, Alex,” she breathed out, her own voice shaky and unable to contain how far gone she was herself.

Ali just grinned seductively in reply and took her other finger in her mouth to give it the same treatment, all the while maintaining eye contact with her. Ashlyn couldn’t take it anymore when Ali raked her teeth down her finger and roughly pushed her back down on the couch. The brunette’s eyes went wide, clearly turned on by the display of aggressiveness that she hadn’t seen in a while. She smiled sweetly and shrank back into the couch, playing up the submissive role and let Ashlyn fall right into her trap.

“You tasted, now it’s my turn,” she grunted before running her tongue through Ali’s wet folds. She hummed approval as she felt her tongue become instantly coated in Ali’s sweet cum. 

“Fuckkk,” Ali hissed when Ashlyn buried her face between her legs and stroked her clit with her tongue, drawing small circles with increasing pressure. Her hands found refuge in the blonde mess of Ashlyn’s hair and tugged roughly on it, earning a growl from Ashlyn. The vibration against her core only made Ali burn with more desire as she pressed her head back into the couch cushion and screwed her eyes shut. She could feel every nerve on her body come alive as Ashlyn brought her close to the edge again, a sensation that only the blonde had ever been able to make her feel. “Ohhh Ashlyn!” she screamed and wrapped her fingers tighter into the blonde hair, grinding herself down on Ashlyn’s face as the Detective dipped her tongue deep into her center.

Ashlyn felt Ali tighten around her tongue and thrust in deeper with more pace as she used her hands to grip Ali’s sides and pin her down to the couch to control her frantic bucking. 

“Fuckkkkkkk.” Ali let out a high pitched whisper as her body was sent spiraling into climax, again sending her into another round of convulsions. 

Ashlyn lifted her head and watched Ali’s body ripple with her orgasm as she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. Cascades of brunette hair were haphazardly strewn across her shoulder and her breathing was heavy and staggered. Her body was coated with a light sheen of sweat that in the soft glow of the moonlight that crept in through the window, highlighted the rise and fall over her toned body even better. She couldn’t fight the smile that came to her lips as she looked down at Ali, splayed before her, panting in pure ecstasy, especially knowing that she was the cause of it all. 

“Forget your name yet?” she asked cockily as Ali’s eyes slowly opened after a minute of trying to steady her breathing.

“Not yet, stud,” she teased with a grin of her own, surprisingly finding her words after being rendered mute after her last orgasm. 

“Well I guess we’re not done yet are we?” Ashlyn challenged, before dipping her hands underneath Ali's butt and quickly lifting her up off the couch.

Ali hastily wrapped her legs around Ashlyn's waist, amazed once again at her show of pure strength, and let herself be carried into the bedroom all while locking their lips in a fiery, hungry kiss.

She grinned internally, knowing that she was in for a long, long night. Feisty Ali had drawn a rough Detective Harris out to play. And Ashlyn Harris never backed down from a challenge.

“You ready to forget that name of yours now?” Ashlyn asked as she threw Ali down on the bed, before quickly pouncing down on her.


	35. Practice Makes Perfect

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay okay...you guys win. Here's your next smut chapter lol. After this I'm going back to the story line, of which there will of course be some sexy time mixed in ;)

“Alex?” called Ashlyn as she made her way through her front door. She struggled to shut the door with her hands full, in one hand she had Ali’s favorite Thai food and her work bags, in the other a bouquet of flowers to celebrate her going back to work the next day. Even though Ash was still a bit skeptical about her returning so soon, she had promised to support her and that’s exactly what she was going to do. 

When there was no answer, she called out again, “Alex are you here?” she could have sworn that Ali agreed to be there when she got home so she could give her a surprise. She knew her princess would never pass up an opportunity for a surprise. Although, Ali was one to frequently run late so she shrugged it off.

She made her way to the kitchen where she set the Thai food down on the table and went to get some plates out of the cupboard. After setting two plates and cups out, she dug through the cabinet under the sink until she finally found what she was looking for, a vase. After arranging the flowers for a few minutes until she decided they looked perfect, she turned and made her way towards the bedroom, eager to get out of her work clothes and into something more comfortable before Ali came back.

A noise from the other side of the bedroom door caused her to pause. She froze outside the door and tried to still her breathing to listen better. When she didn’t hear anything, she cautiously pushed the door open and stepped inside.

“Hey stud,” said Ali who was retreating from Ashlyn’s closet with quite the grin on her face.

Ashlyn’s first thought was that she had just caught Ali trying to smuggle out her favorite UNC hoodie, but upon further inspection after she flicked the light on, she was dead wrong.

Ali was standing there, in her uniform, Ashlyn’s police uniform. She knew it was hers due to the HARRIS stitched into the left chest pocket.

“Uhhh…what uh…whatcha doing there, Alex?” she asked tentatively as Ali just continued to smirk at her.

“What are you talking about, Ashlyn?” she responded coyly. 

The way Ali was biting her lip and staring back at her was quite unsettling and Ashlyn was struggling to form words. “Why…uh…why are you in…in my uniform?” She mentally patted herself on the back for being able to form a coherent sentence, as staggered as it was.

“Well,” Ali said as she took a few steps and closed the gap between her and the Detective, “You know how I am going back to work tomorrow?” 

“Uh huh,” Ashlyn breathed out as Ali gently tucked a stray blonde hair behind her ear, letting her fingers ghost down Ashlyn’s neck. “Wha…what’s that got to do with anything?”

“Well I thought I might be a little rusty.”

“Oh,” replied Ashlyn, trying to ignore the sensation of Ali lightly nibbling on her ear. She knew Ali had some sort of plan and didn’t want to get too lost until she knew what that plan was. “A…and?”

“Well, I thought if it was alright with you maybe I could practice some things on you. You know just to make sure I didn’t forget anything while I was out?”

“Oh…” Ashlyn was trying so hard to concentrate, but Ali running her fingers up her pants leg and over her core was making it extremely difficult to. “Like…uh…like what kind of stuff?”

“Well, I thought just the basics,” she whispered into Ashlyn’s ear, enthralled by the reaction she was getting from the blonde. 

“Li…like?” Ashlyn was literally struggling to form basic words, let alone sentences.

“Like I could start with frisking you?”

“Oh.”

“Only if you want though. I mean it would really help me to get some practice in,” she hummed into her ear.

Ashlyn could feel Ali’s hot breath on her ear and the hairs on her body automatically stood on end. “Oh um…sure…you know only because it is good for you to practice.”

“Right,” Ali nodded before pushing Ashlyn roughly up against the wall.

“Do you have any weapons on you ma’am,” she asked as she pressed Ashlyn’s front into the wall and secured her there.

“Not…not that I can think of,” Ashlyn responded, deciding that claiming her arms as “guns” might kill the erotic mood that had just been established.

“Hmmm, well I’m going to need to check. Is there anything on you that I should know about?” Ali asked as she used her foot to kick Ashlyn’s apart and spread her legs.

“Just a hot brunette Officer that I can’t wait to have my way with later,” Ashlyn teased, unable to resist the statement.

Ali pressed her front into Ashlyn’s back, “That’s strike one ma’am.” She pulled back and created some distance between Ashlyn and the wall so that she was now leaning on her hands against it. “Last time I’m going to ask, is there anything on you that I should know about?”

“No Officer,” the blonde replied with a grin as she felt Ali running her hands firmly up and down her arms “searching” for something.

“You know, I can’t get a good feel with this shirt on. I’m going to need to take it off. Do you have a problem with that?” she asked in a way that Ashlyn knew she couldn’t say no, not that she would have anyways.

“Not at all, Officer,” Ashlyn complied and let out a shudder when she felt Ali reach around with both hands and begin to unbutton her shirt. 

Ali took her time, slowly and methodically undoing button by button, as she leaned her head over Ashlyn’s shoulder, placing an open mouthed kiss on her neck every time she successfully undid one. She could hear Ashlyn’s breath increasing and couldn’t hide the smirk that came across her face. “I’m going to need to take this off now,” she whispered when she finally reached the last button.

Ashlyn gulped, knowing that she was losing a layer of protection against her sexy brunette’s advances, but eagerly shed it nonetheless. She could feel Ali’s warm lips tracing every inch of newly exposed skin and couldn’t contain the moan that slipped from her lips as Ali raked her nails down Ashlyn’s side after unhooking her bra and letting it fall to the bedroom floor.

“Got anything in these back pockets I should be worried about?” she asked huskily as she slipped her hands in and squeezed Ashlyn’s ass tightly. 

“No, but I might have something underneath them,” the blonde breathed out, playing into Ali’s game. Her body was aching for more and as enjoyable as this was, it was taking everything in her not to turn around and throw Ali on the bed to have her way with her.

“Hmmm, well I guess we’ll just have to see,” she whispered in Ashlyn’s ear, letting her lips linger as she again reached around and unbuttoned the Detective’s jeans. “Take them off, NOW,” she commanded before stepping back to watch with lust filled eyes as Ashlyn stripped her pants off. “Hands back on the wall,” she ordered and Ashlyn quickly obeyed.

The Detective could feel Ali’s eyes raking over her body and although she felt completely exposed and vulnerable, she wouldn’t trade it for the world. Who else could say their girlfriend dressed up in their cops uniform and frisked them before taking them on the bed? This was definitely going to be worth it, she just had to play the game.

They sat in silence for a moment, Ali just sitting on the edge of the bed admiring her partner’s physique as Ashlyn stood naked with her hands on the wall and waited for her next directive. She looked at every contour of her body, every outline and color in her tattoos, the way her muscles rippled and how her chest rose and fell quickly with her hurried breaths. Ashlyn’s voice finally ripped her from her trance.

“Am I being charged with something, Officer?” she asked over her shoulder, definitely wanting to speed the process up. She couldn’t take it anymore, she needed Ali’s touch.

“The verdict is still out on that,” purred Ali as she stood up from the edge of the bed and made her way back over. “I guess I could finish frisking you,” she whispered into the skin on Ashlyn’s back, smirking when her little hairs stood on end at the contact. She grabbed her wrists and traced the curve of Ashlyn’s arms with her fingers before massaging her shoulders gently for a moment. Next, she dropped them down her sides and up her back, smiling as she saw the skin erupt in goosebumps. Pressing her front into Ashlyn’s back, she wrapped her arms around and began cupping and massaging her breasts as she bit roughly down on Ash’s shoulder.

“Fuckkk, Alex,” she hissed when Ali dropped to her knees and wrapped her hands around Ashlyn’s ankles before slowly sliding them up. Ash’s breath hitched when Ali ghosted her fingers up her inner thigh and she bent her knees to sink down a bit to get contact on where she needed it most.

Ali wasn’t going to have any of that. “It’s Officer Krieger to you,” she said sternly before grabbing Ashlyn by the waist and pushing her roughly onto the bed.

Ashlyn’s eyes went wide as she saw Ali digging around in a drawer and turn around with something glistening in her hands. Handcuffs. She gulped; she was definitely in for it.

“Ashlyn Harris you’re under arrest,” she said sexily as she swayed her hips back and forth and walked towards the bed, swinging the handcuffs around on her finger.

“For…for what?” Ashlyn said, barely able to control her senses anymore. This was a side of Ali that she had never seen before, but she definitely wasn’t complaining. She wasn’t used to giving complete control over, though she doubted she would have any regrets judging from the wild look in Ali’s eyes.

“For being too fucking sexy,” Ali said with a smile. “Hands above your head,” she ordered with a glare.

Ashlyn sank back in the bed, already feeling the wetness pooling between her legs, and raised her hands up. Ali made quick work, and Ashlyn knew she was definitely all in when she heard the handcuffs click into place and realized that Ali hadn’t just handcuffed her, she had handcuffed her to the bed. She tried to bring her hands down, but was stopped her as she found that she was wrapped around a spoke of the headboard.

“Ah ah ah,” Ali said and wagged a finger. “You’re not going anywhere, stud.”

Ashlyn’s heart was racing and as much as she didn’t want to bed, she didn’t think she could wait anymore. “Please, Alex” she whispered, pushing her thighs together to get some sort of contact to ease the throbbing between her legs.

Ali dropped down onto the bed and pushed Ashlyn’s legs apart, foiling her plan. “What did I tell you, Ashlyn? It’s Officer Krieger to you. You don’t want to rack up more charges for disrespecting an Officer of the law do you?” she chided.

“No I don’t, Officer,” she breathed out, barely able to form coherent sentences as she felt Ali’s lips around her nipple, while her hand explored the other one. 

“Good,” Ali hummed into her skin as she trailed her kissed down. “Now where were we?” she asked as she quickly flicked her tongue over Ashlyn’s clit.

“I…I think you were about to punish me for breaking the law.” _At least I hope so._

“Oh right. I do think you need to be taught a lesson. And I think I know just the way to do that,” she said.

Ali quickly pushed off the bed and Ashlyn groaned, but quickly changed her tune when she saw Ali stepping into a harness. This was also new.

“Wha…what’s that?” she asked with wide eyes.

“Something to help me teach you a lesson. We don’t like law breakers around here, now do we, Ashlyn?”

“N-No,” she stuttered.

“Fuck, I think you’re already ready for me,” Ali groaned when she ran her fingers through Ashlyn’s folds and they returned glistening. She dipped them in again, coating them and then running her fingers up and down the red shaft of the strap on.

“Fuckkkk,” Ashlyn moaned as she fought against the restraints on her wrists. She wanted to grab Ali and feel her, but there was no way she was getting out of those cuffs. They weren’t the fuzzy sex shop handcuffs, they were the real deal. She just hoped Ali knew where the key was when this was all over.

“You’re not getting out of that so don’t even try,” Ali chastised her as if she was reading her partner’s mind. Before Ashlyn could respond, Ali slipped the strap on into her and immediately heard Ashlyn tug against the cuffs instinctively as she arched her back off the bed.

She rocked her hips slowly, in and out, trying to build up a rhythm and get Ashlyn used to it. Her eyes lit up as she drew her hips back and saw the shaft slide out soaking wet. Ashlyn had stopped fighting against the restraints and her back had sunk back down on the bed as she felt the strap on sliding in and out of her and got used to the feeling. Ali could tell she was ready for more and quickly thrust her hips forward, bottoming out in her partner. 

“Fuckkk, Ale—I mean Officer,” Ashlyn moaned as she pressed her head back into the pillow.

Ali stifled the laugh that threatened to escape her lips at how Ashlyn was still able to catch herself even though she was so far gone. She made a mental note to reward her for that later. Ali reached her hands to Ashlyn’s hips and began pulling her towards her as she thrust deep into her. Ashlyn was matching her movements and getting lost in the euphoric feeling of Ali taking control of her body. 

Ali leaned down and captured Ashlyn’s lips in a searing kiss as Ashlyn alternated between whimpering and letting out a slew of swear words. With her fingers, turning white at the knuckle where she has them dug into Ashlyn’s hips, Ali slammed into her with a furious pace that matched the intensity of both of their desires. The bed was creaking and the headboard slamming against the wall, but all of this was drowned out by the screams erupting from Ashlyn as she called Ali’s name out, her shoulders pushed down into the mattress, eyes screwed shut.

Ali loves the sight in front of her, knowing that she has all the power over Ashlyn, knowing that she is causing her to feel that good, knowing that Ashlyn gasping every time she bottoms out in her is all her doing.

After another minute, Ali feels her tighten around the strap on and thinks for a moment that Ashlyn might actually break the headboard in an attempt to free her hands as she wildly bucks against the strap on, needing slightly more contact to send her over the edge.

Ali complies and drives into her, rubbing circles on her clit with her thumb and in that moment, feels Ashlyn shatter around her. She slows her thrusting down to long and deep, but slow strokes as Ashlyn comes down. Finally, Ashlyn’s back drops down against the bed and she is panting, struggling to catch her breath or even see correctly. The room is spinning and she can’t even come to her senses, but that doesn’t stop Ali. No, Ali has another lesson to teach her.

Before Ashlyn could even regain the ability to speak, Ali worked her way down her body and settled between her legs. She ran her tongue softly over Ashlyn’s clit, laughing at the little yelp that escaped her lips at the contact.

“Easy there, stud,” she replied huskily before plunging her tongue into the Detective’s folds. Within less than a minute, Ali feels Ashlyn tighten around her tongue. In even less than that, she pushes Ashlyn to climax again. 

“Fuckkkk, Alex!” Ashlyn screams, trying to turn her head to let the pillow absorb some of the noise. They do have neighbors after all. As she opens her eyes, she panics for a moment. She is literally seeing stars and the room is spinning around her. Her whole body burns with a weird sense that her skin has been ignited, but as Ali runs her fingers all over her body, the burning is instantly replaced by chills. _What is this woman doing to me?_

That’s when she heard Ali’s voice break through her thoughts.

“I thought we went over this. It’s Officer Krieger.”

“Guess you’ll have to punish me again,” Ashlyn said with a dimpled smirk, giving the brunette a wink to edge her on even more. 

For a moment, she forgot that she wasn’t in control. For a moment she forget that Ali had her handcuffed to the bed. She quickly remembered though when Ali cut off her next sentence, by burying herself to the hilt inside of her, sending another wave of intense pleasure washing through her body. A slew of gasps and moans is all that is able to escape Ashlyn’s lips as she quickly builds up to her third orgasm of the night. 

_I think I’ll be just fine going back to work tomorrow_ , Ali thought with a smirk as she sent Ashlyn into a fit of convulsions yet another time.


	36. Learn the Difference

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay okay the endless chapters of smut are over for now! Thanks for all the great comments, you guys are the best!! I hope you enjoy the rest of the story and thanks again for sticking with me :)

“Hey look who it is!” came a voice from behind them. “Good to have you back, Officer Krieger,” Rodgers said as he dropped a heavy hand on her shoulder and pulled her into his side.

“It’s good to be back,” Ali replied with a genuine smile. It was her first day back and she couldn’t be more excited to get back to her normal routine. Well, as normal as it could be since she was secretly hooking up with her partner behind the department’s back.

Ashlyn carefully watched the two of them interact. She winced a bit when she saw Rodgers roughly pull her into a hug, but decided to let it pass. Watching Brody run up behind her and wrap his arms tightly around her, whisking her off the ground was too much for her to ignore, though. “Watch it, Brody!” she called out to him with a stern glance.

Brody looked back at Ashlyn and gently set Ali back down on the ground. “Someone’s protective,” he teased with a raised eyebrow.

“She’s only a few months out of surgery, man. Just be careful.”

Ali watched the interaction with a furrowed brow. She knew Ashlyn was being overprotective, but she was just trying to look out for her.

“She’s clear to work, Harris,” he replied evenly. “You think the bad guys will take it easy on her?”

His words did little to settle Ashlyn’s nerves and Ali cringed at his statement as she watched Ashlyn’s jaw tighten.

“Just be careful,” she responded cooly before turning and leaving Brody to glance back at Ali and shrug.

“Well then,” Ali said with a small laugh.

Brody turned back towards her and grinned. “You know I think I liked it better when she hated you,” he chuckled.

“And whys that?” Ali said as she watched Ashlyn blow through the front door to catch some fresh air.

He simply shrugged, “She wasn’t so damn protective of you! And we could talk about how hot you were.” He jumped away just in time, missing the swinging hand that was coming for his arm. “It’s true!” Brody said as he slid out of the way of another slap.

Finally the two settled down and Ali looked over at a grinning Brody and shook her head. “Anyways, I know Harris has been kind of tight-lipped, but how is the Mendez case going? You guys have any new updates?”

Brody looked a little uncomfortable and Ali couldn’t tell why. She figured it was due to the fact that he had shot her. “Uh…nothing new on our end,” he stated calmly. When Ali looked at him with a raised eyebrow, he added, “Don’t worry, we’ll…we’ll get that asshole.”

“Damn right we will,” Ali added. “Ash said she won’t stop until she hunts him down. And then I’ll put the bullet in him myself.”

Brody shifted on his feet and he turned his gaze out the window to where Ashlyn was sitting on the stone ledge of the stairs talking on the phone. “Just…be careful, alright?” he said as he turned his gaze back to Ali. “Mendez is a monster.”

“Yeah don’t worry I’m going to try my hardest to not get shot again,” Ali said with a laugh, trying to lighten the mood that had become a bit more tense.

Brody let a small smile fall over his lips before pushing off the wall he was leaning against. “Well, good luck on your first day back, Kriegs. I’ll see you around!”

Ali was a bit confused at the interaction. Brody usually seemed so sure and confident, but for the first time she had seen him act a bit shy and scared. It was a side of him she hadn’t before and she groaned to herself. The last thing she needed was another coworker babying her because of what had happened. Ashlyn was doing enough of that as it was, but she refused to be afraid for herself. She was going to do her job like she always did, even if it meant putting herself in harm’s way again.

She turned and made her way back down the hall towards her large, wooden desk. As it was her first day back, there was a decent size stack of files waiting for her to go through them. After pulling her leather chair out, she slumped into her seat and grabbed the first file. They were all cases that could be connected somehow to Mendez so she began making her way through the pile, hoping something would come up that would lead them to the notorious dealer. After a few minutes she saw Ashlyn walk back into the office.

“You alright?” Ali asked over the edge of the file she was engrossed in.

“Yeah, I’m great,” Ash said before she sat down at her own desk which was across from Ali’s. “Anything good in there?” she asked with a smirk as she eyed the pile of papers on her partner’s desk.

“You know you could have read some of these too,” she suggested.

“Yeah, but I’m a Detective, soooo…” her voice trailed off, but she finished the statement with a shrug.

Ali crumpled up a ball of paper and chucked it at her. “You are an ass!”

Just as Ashlyn was about to throw it back, the Lieutenant’s door cracked open. “Harris! Rodgers! A word!”

Ash stood up immediately as did Rodgers who was working at his own desk on the other side of the room. They walked over to their boss to see what he wanted, both secretly hoping they weren’t about to get yelled at.

The old man skipped formalities and went right to the issue. “We just got a tip on a deal going down. It’s the guy Rodgers has been following for a few weeks. It might be related to Mendez, but we’re not entirely sure of the connection. Harris, I wanted to give you the option of responding first since this is your case.”

Ali overheard the conversation and smiled. She was excited to get back out in the field and even more excited at the possibility of getting closer to Mendez. She had already slipped on her jacket and clipped her gun into her holster, when Ashlyn responded.

“Uh, I think it might be better if Rodger’s covers it. He’s been out there on the streets and following this guy. I know he’ll keep me informed.”

The Lieutenant nodded. “Alright. Suit up and get out of here Rodgers. You can take Brody if you want backup.”

Rodgers nodded and headed back to his desk, calling for Brody to pack up. They were already heading out the door to their cars when Ashlyn walked back to her desk. She plopped down in her chair and went to turn back to her work when she caught the eye of an extremely pissed of brunette.

“You okay?” Ash asked.

Clearly this was the wrong question because Ali’s eyes grew even larger. “Are you serious right now?”

“What?” Ashlyn asked with a shrug, confused as to what was making her partner so angry.

“Why are we not going out on that call?” Ali asked, trying to maintain her calm and give Ashlyn a chance to explain.

“Rodgers has been on that guy for two weeks,” she stated as if it was the most obvious answer in the world.

“You never let anyone cover you cases like that. Especially not a bust.”

Ali’s stare was cold and daunting and Ashlyn now knew exactly why she was angry. The only problem was, she didn’t know how to talk herself out of it now that she had been caught.

“You can’t treat me like this, Harris.”

“Like what?” Ashlyn challenged.

“Like some fragile little girl who can’t handle her job!”

The Officer’s voice had risen a little louder than she intended, causing some other Officers to glance their way. Ali turned her head away and sat in silence for a minute until they all lost interest.

“If you really love me than that means you should respect me. And respecting me means that you need to let me do my job. You can’t hold me back like this,” she angrily hissed so that only the Detective could hear her.

“I’m just trying to protect you!” Ashlyn responded hotly as she grabbed Ali’s wrist to try to calm her. She couldn’t believe Ali was so mad that she was looking out for her.

“Keeping me back from any remote chance at danger isn’t protecting me, Ashlyn. There’s a difference between protecting and coddling and you better learn that difference really quick!”

“Or what?”

Ali ripped her hand away from Ashlyn and tried to take a few calming breaths. She was about to lose it on the blonde, and she didn’t want that to happen especially in the station. “Or I’ll need to find a new partner,” she stated evenly, although her voice cracked a bit at the end. She quickly stood up and pushed past Ashlyn to head to the bathroom, not wanting anyone to see the few tears roll down her flushed cheeks.

Ashlyn’s jaw instantly tightened at the statement. She wasn’t angry, more so shocked as the realization hit her. Ali considered herself first and foremost, and always would, her partner above all else. If she didn’t start treating her like that, she would lose her as a partner, and perhaps altogether. She let out a sigh before standing up to go look for Ali.

She knew there was only one place she could go to hide so she immediately pushed open the bathroom door. Taking in the sight before her, she saw Ali leaning over the sink with one hand on each side for support as she looked intently into the mirror.

“Alex,” she softly began, but winced when she saw Ali turn to face her with tear stained cheeks.

“What do you want?”

“I…I’m sorry.”

“For?”

Ashlyn should have known the feisty brunette wasn’t going to make apologizing easy for her. “For holding you back,” she said and looked up to see Ali stand up and drop her hands off the edge of the sink, letting them fall to her sides. “For not treating you like my partner,” she continued, noting how Ali’s face softened a bit. “For not respecting you enough to realize that you are amazing at your job.” This time Ali took a step towards her, closing some of the distance. Ash remained planted firmly in place and continued. “For not realizing you deserve more than anyone to be back out there.” Ali took another step forward. “For letting my fears get the best of me and trying to hide you away from everything.” Ali was now standing in front of her, their lips a mere inches apart. Ashlyn knew she had her exactly where she wanted her and paused her apology.

“What else are you sorry for?” Ali asked with a coy grin as she played with the collar of Ashlyn’s shirt, clearly amused at how she had Ashlyn apologizing and spilling her feelings so easily.

“For this,” Ashlyn said with a smirk before lifting her up off the ground and slamming her back against the wall as she hungrily captured Ali’s lips in her own.


	37. How Long?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry i didn't post yesterday! I went right from work to the Kevin Hart show and then was out pretty late. Hope you enjoy this chapter as it starts to get more intense!!

“Any news from Rodgers?” Ali questioned as they pulled off the road and into a gas station.

Ash shook her head. “Not yet. He should be calling soon though,” she added before stepping outside to pump their gas. She shut the door softly behind her and leaned against the car on her elbow while she waited for the car to fill up.

Just then her phone, which she had left inside the car started ringing. Ali tapped the window and held the phone up just as a little boy wandered up admiring the car, his father chasing closely behind. Ash signaled for Ali to answer the phone before leaning down to say hello to the boy. “Hey little man,” she said, putting out a hand to stop him and squatting down to his level so they were eye to eye. “I’m Detective Harris. What’s your name?”

The little blonde haired boy smiled nervously and quickly ducked behind his father’s leg to hide, carefully peering out at the hand Ashlyn had extended for him to shake. After an encouraging nudge from his father the boy cautiously stuck his hand out and shook Ashlyn’s. “Jake,” he said proudly, now that he had regained some confidence.  
“Well it’s nice to meet you Jake,” she said with a smile and ruffled his hair. “Cute kid,” she said, standing up to shake hands with the boy’s father.

“Thanks. He gets his looks from his mother,” the man replied with a smile. “I’ve got to get going, but thanks for catching him!” The man laughed before grabbing his son’s hand and leading him back towards their truck.

Ash shook her hand before twisting the gas cap back on and sliding into the car. She looked to Ali, fully expecting to be teased for the interaction, but immediately knew something was wrong. “What is it? What happened, Alex?” she asked frantically.

“How long have you been getting these calls?” Ali questioned, trying with every ounce of her being not to explode on her partner.

“Wh…what calls?” Ashlyn asked in an innocent tone. She was secretly praying it hadn’t been the call she thought it was.

“Cut the bullshit, Harris,” Ali replied sternly, her face was stern and serious.

Ashlyn knew there was no way to get out of this. “Since you were in the hospital,” she responded quietly and hung her head.

“ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!” Ali yelled and threw her hands up in frustration. “Two months and you didn’t tell me?” She was no longer yelling, but the tone in her voice did more than enough to convey her true anger.

“What difference would it have made, Krieger? There’s no way we would stop going after him. We get threats all the time!”

Ali just shook her head and crossed her arms. “I thought we established the fact that we were partners. That means we tell each other things, Ashlyn.” Ali was truly disappointed in her partner for hiding the threats from Mendez. She thought they had established and that meant being open and honest.

“I’m sorry, Ali,” Ashlyn responded sadly with her head hung low. She knew Ali was upset and had every right to be. “I should have told you.”

“Damn right you should have, Harris,” she replied firmly. “Have you looked into it?”

“Burner phones,” Ashlyn responded quickly. “The number changes every time and voice recognition didn’t pick up anything either. It’s nothing to worry about. I promise.”

“Mhmmm,” Ali hummed, not truly believing Ashlyn’s statement. Not after what she had just heard.

“So…what’d they say this time?”

“Huh?” Ali responded, caught off guard by the question.

“What did the caller say this time?”

 

_“What did I tell you about keeping up with this case?”_

_“I’m sorry, what? Who is this?”_

_“Cut the bullshit, Harris. I warned you to back off Mendez and you didn’t listen.” ___

_“Well we warned Mendez not to be a scumbag, but he didn’t listen either.”_

_“This is your last warning. Lay off Mendez or you’ll be sorry.”_

_“I’m not afraid of you.”_

_“You may not be afraid Harris, but just think about what we’ll do to that pretty brunette girlfriend of yours. Officer Krieger, right? I think we could have some fun with her first before we put a bullet through her head.”_

_Silence._

_“I’ll take that silence as an understanding. Okay, Harris? Last warning before you’ll be burying another partner and once again it’ll be your own doing.”_

“Uhhh…just…just that if you didn’t lay off Mendez you were going to get it. They thought I was you…” She fumbled with her words a bit and hoped Ashlyn hadn’t noticed.

She did, but decided to let it go. It seemed that Ali had accepted the apology and she didn’t want to make her any angrier. “Yeah that’s the usual bullshit they feed me,” Ash responded with a laugh. I’m a cop. If I wasn’t getting threatened I think it would mean that I wasn’t doing my job.”

“Yeah,” Ali said through a forced smile before turning to look out the window. Her cheeks were flushed and she didn’t want Ashlyn to see the look of worry and shock she was trying to hide. As she glanced out the window at the rows of houses they were passing by, she couldn’t stop her mind from over analyzing every word of the phone call she had just taken part in. Not only had someone been threatening Ashlyn to back off of Mendez for months, now they were threatening her as well. And someone, someone out there who wanted to harm them knew that her and Ashlyn were together. Ali shuddered at the thought and the threat that they would “have some fun with her” before killing her. She wasn’t afraid for her life, she was an officer after all and it came with the territory, she was more so afraid of what Ashlyn would do if ever put in a situation where she was in danger. The brunette knew Ashlyn would protect her at all costs, even if it meant stupidly sacrificing herself.

“You alright, Kriegs,” Ashlyn asked and gave her thigh a light squeeze.

The touch that would usually ignite Ali, made her shudder even more. She moved her leg away from Ashlyn’s touch and just nodded. “I’m fine. Just thinking,” she said quietly, still not bringing herself to look at Ashlyn.

Looking forward at the road in front of her, Ash bit her cheek nervously. She knew something was bothering Ali, but she didn’t want to push her at the moment. After the phone call she witness she figured Ali was either still mad at her or just spooked about her being threatened. Her phone started ringing again and she looked over her shoulder at Ali who had turned and was staring back at her intently.

“Can you get that?” she asked.

“Oh yeah that worked out great for me last time,” she tried to joke before answering the call. “Krieger here.”

“Hey Ali,” came Rodgers voice from the other end. “I brought this guy in that I’ve been following. Everyone is okay on our end, but you guys are definitely going to want to get back to the station as soon as possible and question him though.”

“Is everything okay?” Ali asked, noting the urgency in his voice. She switched the phone to speaker so that Ash could hear the conversation as well.

The words that left his mouth next left them both in shock. It was everything they wanted to hear, but neither of the women had realized that they weren’t quite ready to hear it yet.

“It’s about Mendez,” he got out. “He’s back.”


	38. I Wouldn't Call Her That If I Were You...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now we're getting to the good stuff! Hope you enjoy ;)

Much to Ali’s dismay, Ashlyn floored it back to the station. She knows the dealer isn’t going anywhere and is locked up, but her drive for revenge has completely consumed her. This is the closest she’s been to finding Mendez in over two months and she didn’t want to waste another minute. The sooner Mendez stopped breathing, the better. The tires squealed as she whipped into the parking lot and parked the car. Ali barely had time to take her seatbelt off before Ashlyn was up and out of the car.

“What room is he in?” she demanded, casting a look across the room to Rodgers.

“He’s in room 1. You and Ali want him by yourselves?” he asked.

“Yeah. Just tell me what you know first,” she said, letting her Detective skills kick in and overpower the need for quick revenge. If she was going to do this, it needed to be done right, thoroughly.

Rodgers handed her a folder and then nodded to Ali who had just appeared by her partner's side. “We caught him with quite a bit of coke,” he stated. “He’s looking at a very long sentence and might willing to talk if we can cut him a deal. We tested the coke, it’s Mendez’s stuff. This guy is one of the bigger dealers in the area so if anyone knows something, it’s him.”

Ashlyn took everything in, nodding the whole while Rodgers spoke. She was ready. “Is that all you got?”

“Yep. Wanted to save you the good stuff,” he said with a smile. He knew that even before Ali came into the department that Ashlyn was one of the best at interrogation. Now though, with Ali by her side, there was no one that could resist their good cop, bad cop routine. Ironically, and to the disbelief of everyone they interrogated, sweet and beautiful Ali had the bad cop role down better than anyone.

“Perfect. Ready, Krieger?” she asked and cast a look to her left where Ali was standing and processing everything herself.

She tucked a stray hair behind her ear and grinned. “Ready as I’ll ever be.”

The two thanked Rodgers again and then made their way to the interrogation room located down the hallway. They entered and Ashlyn surveyed the man in front of her, slightly shocked. He wasn’t a man, barely even twenty. His tanned skin was covered almost completely in tattoos and he was thin and hollow looking. She shook her head, thinking back to Rodger’s words about how this boy was one of the bigger dealers in the area. It made her sad, especially since she could have gone down a similar path if her Uncle hadn’t steered her the right way. But here was this boy, barely even twenty, running a drug operation. When he looked up to meet her eyes, she could see it, fear.

“Hello, Mr. Jiminez,” Ali said sweetly and the man visibly relaxed when he saw Ali. He figured this would be a walk in the park.

Ali sat down in the chair that Ashlyn pulled out for her. Ashlyn was just pretending to be reading the file and letting Ali work the room for the moment as she leaned against the side wall with her knees slightly bent. She would know when it was her turn to step in.

“Hello, Officers,” he said with a smug smile as he let his eyes wander Ali’s body.

Ashlyn glanced up over the file she was reading and smiled to herself. He was walking right into Ali’s trap and Ashlyn almost felt bad for the poor kid. Almost.

“How are you doing today?”

“Ahh I’ve been better,” he responded and leaned back in his chair, folding his hands behind his head while looking back at the smiling brunette. He was just glad the blonde Detective covered in tattoos wasn’t questioning him, or else he would be in trouble.

When he winked at her, Ali shyly blushed and looked away for a moment. “So, Mr. Jiminez, Detective Rodgers said you had some information to share with us?” she asked, clasping her hands in front of her on the table and turning to look back at the boy smiling.

“You can call me Ricky, sweetheart,” he said with a wink and licked his lips. He had the pretty Officer blushing and knew that this interrogation was going to go exactly the way he wanted it to.

Ashlyn saw his smirk and knew it was time to step in. “Uhhh, hi,” she said, waving her hand to get his attention. “Um…I…I wouldn’t call her sweetheart if I were you,” she warned.

The man just laughed and shot Ashlyn an annoyed look. “I think the Officer and I were having a conversation that didn’t involve you,” he smugly stated. “So stay out of it.”

Ash threw her hands up and took a step back towards the wall, resuming her leaning back position. “Hey I’m just trying to help you out man. Don’t mind me,” she reiterated.

Ali had to hold back the smile that was willing itself onto her face while she watched the interaction. They had played this game so many times, but she never got tired of it.

Ricky turned back to Ali, “So where were we, sexy?” he said with a grin and wagged his eyebrows.

Ashlyn sucked in a deep breath and covered her mouth as her eyes went wide at his statement. It was a non-verbal warning, but Ricky just kept charging forward when she didn’t say anything. He just shot her a look and rolled his eyes.

“As I was saying,” Ali said quietly, “Detective Rodgers said you had some information to share with us.”

“What kind of information?” he asked, leaning forward and closing some of the distance between them.

Ashlyn almost snorted at how ballsy he was being, but knew he would soon be paying for it.

“About Mendez. You’ve heard of him right?” she sweetly asked as if she didn’t already know the answer.

Ricky sighed and leaned back in his chair again. “Can’t say I have, sweetheart.”

“Oh, you haven’t?” Ali feigned being shocked and looked over to Ashlyn with a confused face.

“Nope. No idea who that is,” he reiterated.

“Hmm,” she responded and put her cupped her chin in her hand, pretending to be deep in thought. “I guess that makes sense,” she concluded with a shrug.

“And why’s that?”

“Well it makes sense that Mendez wouldn’t associate with a low-level street dealer who’s clueless that he was being tailed for two weeks.” She stated it simply as if it was obvious and not at all offensive.

Ricky’s jaw dropped. “You have no idea what you’re talking about!” he scoffed.

Ali shrugged and turned to Ashlyn who was still looking busy while skimming the file. “That makes sense, right, Harris? I mean Mendez wouldn’t waste his time with a low-level thug dealer. He would want to bring in the big guns who showed potential and could run the streets, right?”

Ashlyn looked up and nodded. “Yeah. Obviously,” she agreed before dropping her eyes to the file again.

“So I guess that means you’re kind of useless to us,” Ali concluded. She tapped her pen on the table and offered an apologetic smile.

“You have no idea what you’re saying. Mendez is going to be working for me one day. I run these streets, bitch!” he mumbled.

“Woahhh buddy,” Ashlyn said, peeling herself from the wall and tossing the file on the desk in front of Ali. “I’m telling you, you definitely don’t want to call her that,” she offered.

“Mind your own damn business,” he seethed while glaring at Ashlyn.

Ashlyn rolled her eyes and kept her mouth shut. In a minute he would be saying different.

Ricky turned his attention back to Ali who was still smiling at him. “Oh so you do know Mendez then?” She knew he would talk if it meant boosting his ego. That’s how they always got them talking.

“Yeah I know Mendez. Everyone knows Mendez.”

“So where is he?”

Ricky looked back at her like she was crazy. “Aw you gotta take me out to dinner before you get into my pants like that, baby,” he said with a smirk. “You know how these things work right?”

“I’m sorry?” Ali asked, a look of confusion plastered on her face.

“You offer me a nice, sweet deal with complete immunity and no jail time and then I think about talking,” he shrugged.

Ali turned to Ashlyn and whispered loudly enough for him to hear, “Is that how it works?”

Ashlyn chuckled and nodded. “Usually it is,” she confirmed.

“Hmmmm,” Ali hummed and cast a glance to a smug looking Ricky, who was grinning since Ashlyn had backed him up. 

He was going to get a nice deal and then just lie about where Mendez was. This brunette bimbo had nothing on him. 

“I want to do it differently?” she said, mostly to herself. Then she looked back at Ash, “Can I do it differently?”

 

Ashlyn just shrugged and looked back at Ricky who’s smirk had slightly faltered.

Ali turned back to the pale man and bit her bottom lip. “Yeah that’s not how it’s going to work this time. I’m going to do it differently, actually.” She stood up and pushed her chair back into the wall, watching Ricky wince as it slammed against it. She closed the distance between them, grabbing Ricky by the front of his shirt and slamming him into the wall. “Where the hell is Mendez!”

Ricky’s jaw dropped, along with his confidence. The sexy cop had just gone from sweet to sour in a matter of seconds and it was far too late for him to recover. “Uhhh…uhhh…”

“Aw what’s the matter?” Ali scoffed and slammed him back up against the wall. “Where’s that charm now?”

“What the hell! Get her off of me!” he screamed to Ashlyn who was still leaning against the wall with her arms folded, wearing a smug grin of her own.

“Hey I warned you,” she answered nonchalantly with a shrug.

Ali wound up and landed a punch to his gut and he doubled over in pain, coughing and gasping for air.

“What the fuck! Make her stop!” he yelled as Ali pushed him backwards again.

“Lay off Krieger,” Ashlyn fake warned her partner as she pushed off the wall and pretended to grab Ali’s arm to pull him away. “He probably doesn’t know anything.”

Ali could see the fear in Ricky’s eyes and knew he was close to cracking. She ripped free of Ashlyn’s grip and whirled around. She lifted up her shirt just a bit to expose the scar that stretched across her lower torso. “Mendez put a fucking a bullet through my stomach two months ago! If you don’t tell me where he is, you’re going to meet a similar fate!” She whipped out her gun and this time Ashlyn’s eyes went wide for real. This was never part of the plan, but then again, this was a case of a different nature entirely. This was personal, for both of them now. For a moment, until Ali had reminded her, she had almost forgot that Mendez had taken something from Ali as well. Still, she knew she needed to calm her down. This irrational version of Ali slightly scared her, though she understood the reasons behind it.

“Woah! Woah!” Ricky’s eyes were wide as well and his voice was a higher pitch than they had heard before. “WHAT THE HELL! Make her stop!”

Ashlyn grabbed Ali and pushed her back. “Cool it!” she demanded, this time for real when she noticed how Ali’s eyes had gone black with anger. Ali was still fighting against her so she grasped both arms firmly and shook her, “Get a grip, Krieger!” When Ali took a deep breath and realized what she had just done, Ashlyn saw her eyes soften. She turned back to Ricky who was huddled on the ground, his back to the corner farthest away from them. “You going to talk now? Because I’ll let her at you again if you want to keep playing this game.”

“42 North Street. He’ll be there tomorrow night for a drop.”

It was all they needed to hear. Ashlyn grabbed Ali and pulled her from the room, making sure she holstered her gun first. The station was mostly empty when they exited the room as it was well past 6 o’clock. They headed to Ashlyn’s desk to come up with a plan when Ash heard a familiar voice say hi.

“Heard you got a guy in room 2?” he asked. “Finally getting closer to that asshole, Mendez?”

“Yeah,” Ash answered, but wasn’t in the mood to go into details. “Working on the plan now, but we know there’s a drop tomorrow night at 42 North. That scumbag is always two steps ahead of us, but not this time. This time we’re going to get him and he won’t even see us coming. We’ll brief the team on it tomorrow when we work up the game plan.”

“Got it,” he replied evenly, trying to contain his emotions. “We’ll get him. I’ll see you ladies tomorrow,” he said with a smile. “Be safe, you two.”

“You too, Brody!” Ali responded as he retreated and left them to their planning.


	39. Okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a little angst, followed by cute stuff. I was nice and didn't leave it as a cliffhanger like I normally would. Think of it as the calm before the storm ;P

The sun had set and the girls had just finished up the game plan for they were going to approach breaching the house. Ashlyn had wanted to do a drive by of the area, but Ali put her foot down and argued that they needed to do everything in their power not to alert Mendez that they knew where he was. That meant keeping Ricky locked up in isolation for the night, keeping the plan between them for the time being and doing everything in their power to not tip Mendez off. Ashlyn reluctantly agreed. As much as she wanted to stake the place out, she knew that Ali was right and they needed to keep their distance. There was no way he was getting away, not this time. Not when there was so much at stake. It was personal and this time they were going to finish the job.

It was already 8pm and the only lights on in the entire station were the ones at their desks, which they had pushed together and were littered with documents. Ashlyn began gathering them up and placing them in the appropriate folders while Ali printed off a few copies of booklets for the team to study the next day after they were briefed.

“So we agree that we’ll hold off and won’t brief until a few hours before?” Ali asked as she walked back into the room where Ashlyn was struggling to move the desk on her own. “Need some help?” she asked in a playful tone.

Ashlyn just looked back at her sheepishly. “Yes, please.” She had definitely learned to keep her ego in check around Ali because the brunette had no problem calling her out on things.

Ali smirked and walked to other end of the desk. Together the adjusted them back to their original positions. 

“These desks are heavy!” Ali said as she struggled to lift her own end and walk it across the room.

“Yeah, but they’re very sturdy,” Ashlyn said and wagged her eyebrows suggestively.

“Cool it, Harris,” Ali responded with a laugh. “Not gonna happen.”

Ashlyn pretended to pout but it didn’t last long. She knew she could have her way with Ali later so she just had to wait a bit. “Fine,” she stated with a shrug.

“That was easy,” Ali said suspiciously. “Usually you’re much more,” she paused to think of the right word before adding, “persistent.”

Ash just shrugged again, not wanting to give up her true reasons for backing off. 

Ali eyed her skeptically, but decided to let it be for the moment. “Well I guess I’ll see you tomorrow, Harris,” she said with a forced smile. They still hadn’t talked about what they were, but since returning to work Ali had moved back home. It was part of her attempt to convince her partner that she was fit to return to work, even though it meant suffering through the nightmares alone, as well as pretending she wasn’t getting them anymore. The past few nights, sometime between 2 and 4 am, drenched in sweat, her finger would hang over Ashlyn’s contact in her phone, but she would fight down the urge to call her. 

Ashlyn could sense there was a shift in the mood. Ali seemed almost tentative, not the brazen woman she normally was. She figured it had to do with their lack of definition, something that was bothering her as well, but wasn’t quite sure. 

With a small sigh, Ali turned to grab her jacket, but Ashlyn gently caught her arm and turned her back around. “Can I take you out for dinner tonight? As…like…a date?” 

To say that Ali was caught off-guard was an understatement. Sure they had lived together and basically played house for the past two months while she was recovering, but Ashlyn had never taken her out. Unsure if it was because she was recovering and really couldn’t leave the house, the fact that they were still hiding their relationship from the department or just the fact that Ashlyn Harris didn’t do dates, Ali had tried to ignore the hurt that she felt during that time. Obviously they had gone out to eat plenty of times together before she got hurt, but that was before they had become whatever they were and Ali knew it was no different than going out to eat with any other partner she had had. But this time, it felt different. Now, standing in front of her with a nervous yet pleading look, was that same Ashlyn Harris. _The_ Ashlyn Harris who didn’t do dates. 

A small smile crept over Ali’s face and was instantly mirrored in Ashlyn’s. “But I thought Ashlyn Harris didn’t do dates?” 

The teasing look in Ali’s eyes let Ash know that she was just playing around so she visibly relaxed a bit, her confidence coming back in swells. “Well I guess she does with beautiful, amazing brunettes.”

“Better only be one brunette you take out on dates, Harris,” Ali playfully chastised her before placing a chaste kiss on her lips. 

“You’re the only one for me,” she replied honestly, her soft eyes reflecting the same sentiment.

“Well then let’s go, stud,” she said with a gentle pat on Ashlyn’s arms. “I’ll drive.” She swayed her hips back and forth just a bit extra and could feel the blonde’s gaze on her as she retreated towards the parking lot.

Ashlyn sucked in a deep breath and lifted her jaw from the floor before chasing after the strutting Officer.

Twenty minutes they were seated comfortably in a booth, looking over menus in the dim candlelight. Well, Ashlyn was looking at the menu. Ali was just looking over at Ashlyn, letting her eyes memorize every inch of her face. A smile crawled across her lips when she saw the blonde scrunch her face in confusion, clearly trying to figure out what she wanted. After a moment, Ashlyn lifted her gaze and she was caught staring. A light flush spread over her cheeks when Ashlyn smirked.

“Like what you see?” she chided.

“Are you always so cocky?” Ali teased her back.

Setting her menu down, Ashlyn leaned forward across the table to close some of the distance between them. “How can I not be when I’m able to make the most beautiful woman in the world blush like that?”

“Such a charmer,” Ali laughed and then turned her attention to the waitress that had wandered over. 

They place their order and made small talk until their food came over. After scarfing down their meals, since they hadn’t actually eaten all day, a comfortable silence came over them. Ashlyn called the waitress over and ordered another two glasses of wine and then just looked back at Ali with a goofy grin.

“What are you smiling about?” Ali asked with a tone of seriousness.

“I just…I had a great time with you tonight. I always have a great time with you,” she answered honestly. 

“I do too, Ash. I just wish this was easier.” She knew her words would take the conversation down a different path, but it was something that needed to be addressed. They had ben skirting around one another and their co-workers and it was a balancing act that although was worth it, was tiring.

“I know,” Ashlyn replied before taking a long sip of her wine. She took a deep breath and then let out a sigh. It was now or never. “I wish I could give you everything, Alex. I really do. And…as much as I love having you as my partner…I think…I think…”

“Don’t say it, Ashlyn…” Ali warned. Once the words were said, they couldn’t be taken back.

“I think after everything with the Mendez case settles down, I want to tell the Lieutenant about us. I want to be with you, Alex, and not just in the shadows. I want to be by your side and be open and give you everything you deserve. You deserve this,” she said and spread her arms wide. “You deserve fancy dinner dates and being around my friends and family as my girlfriend. I love you so much, but you deserve so much more than this and I want to be able to give it to you.”

A few tears streamed down Ali’s face. Ashlyn leaned forward and wiped them gently with her thumb. For the moment she wasn’t sure if they were happy or sad tears so she just held her breath and waited for a response. The silence was deafening and she immediately began to panic when Ali didn’t respond. She pulled her hand back and was about to try and take it all back, when Ali finally spoke up.

“Ash…I…I don’t know what to say.”

When she paused, Ashlyn just looked at her expectantly, waiting for more. 

“I love you too, but…”

In the soft noise of the bustling restaurant, Ashlyn Harris was preparing herself for heartbreak.

“I just…I don’t know.”

“Is this not what you want?” asked an obviously hurt Detective.

“No. It is, but I just love being by your side every day. I would hate not waking up with a smile on my face knowing I got to spend all day with you. That’s literally what gets me out of bed; the fact that I get to ride around, joke around and kick ass with you by my side. I don’t want to lose that.”

She had valid points, but Ashlyn was still a little hurt at her confession. Ali was essentially valuing their friendship and her job more than the possibility of having a real relationship between them. “So…you want to keep us a secret still?”

“I really don’t know, Ash. I like what we have now.”

“And what do we have, Krieger?” She downed the remainder of her wine and prepared herself to say the rest of what she really wanted to. “What do we really have? Partners during the day, fuck buddies by night? Is that really all you want from this? Because if it is then I think I read this whole situation wrong.” She fought back the tears that were threatening to spill. This was definitely not the way she thought the conversation was going to go. 

“Ashlyn, you know it’s not like that. I just don’t want to lose you as a partner!”

“Even if that meant gaining me as a girlfriend?” Ashlyn challenged.

“We can have both!” Ali stated, her voice rising a bit louder. She didn’t know why Ashlyn was trying to complicate all of this. They could be partners and still date, all without telling the Lieutenant and risk being separated not only by the unit, but also potentially by distance. 

“We can’t, Alex. We can’t have both. I don’t want to hide this anymore. I’m willing to take whatever punishment the Lieutenant hands down to me and take all responsibility for it.”

“Why can’t we just leave things like they are! We don’t need to tell everyone about us. What we have now is working, Ashlyn.”

Ashlyn grabbed the napkin off her lap and balled it up before placing it on the table. “Well maybe it’s not working for me,” she replied through gritted teeth. She had figured all along that she would never be good enough for Ali, but the fact that she wanted to keep them a secret was more than she could handle. She wanted to be open and honest about her love, but if Ali couldn’t even admit that they were something, she couldn’t be a part of it anymore. Her feelings were too invested and if it didn’t end now, she knew it was going to end the same way as her last relationship.

“Ashlyn, stop,” Ali yelled when she pushed back her chair and stood up.

“I’ve got to go, Alex. Don’t worry, I’ll take a cab. I already paid the bill too,” she mumbled.

Ali panicked and ran after her, grabbing her arm outside of the restaurant. “Ashlyn, stop. I love you. You know that!”

“Well why can’t anyone else know that!” Ashlyn challenged, taking a step towards her. 

“You know why,” she replied quietly, shrinking back from her. “Stop making this harder than it needs to be.”

Ashlyn could see that Ali was well aware of what was going on, and her eyes and tone were pleading. “Alex, I can’t do this. I can’t keep half-assing things. I need to be all in. When I thought I lost you back there, that was the worst day of my life. I love you more than you can ever know and I just can’t keep hiding that in the shadows. I’m sorry.”

Ali didn’t know what to say. She was completely shocked and she felt nauseated from the emotional roller coaster that she had been on all day. From the threatening phone calls and finding out where Mendez was to being asked out on a date for the first time and then now this. She couldn’t wrap her head around everything, but knew that with every passing second she was losing Ashlyn even more. That thought terrified her the most. She stepped towards Ashlyn and grabbed her hands, holding them tight even when her partner tried to pull away. “Okay.”

“Okay what, Alex?”

“I don’t want to hide in the shadows anymore. After we get Mendez, together, we’ll figure this out, okay? I love you and can’t lose you, Ash.”

“You really mean that?” Ashlyn asked. She hoped Ali was serious and wasn’t just telling her what she wanted to hear for the moment.

“I mean it. I need you, Ashlyn. I can’t imagine living this life without you. We’ll figure this out together. Okay?”

Ashlyn pulled Ali close and wrapped her arms tightly around her waist. She leaned in and locked their lips in a passionate kiss that displayed all the emotions she wasn’t able to say in words. “Okay,” she replied while smiling into their kiss.


	40. Last Warning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dun Dun Dunnnn... Hope you liked the cuteness of last chapter because now things start to get real!!

The swollen sun sent streaming rays through the clouds. As Ashlyn exited her Jeep and made her way into the station, she looked up to the sky and let the beams of light hit her face. She soaked up the warmth for a minute, finally feeling like everything in her life was falling into place. After spending the night with Ali, even though little talking occurred, they had solidified their feelings and plan to tell the Lieutenant going forward. On top of that, it was a beautiful day. A beautiful day to catch the man that had taken so much from her and make him pay.

It was almost ironic, she thought, that the day Mendez would be taken down was such a gorgeous, sunny day. She had always figured it would have happened on a gloomy, rainy day, but now that the day had finally arrived she could care less what the weather was like. As long as Mendez was in handcuffs or under a blanket on a gurney at the end of the day, she would be happy.

Making her way to her desk, Ash waved at the other officers and detectives who had arrived before her. Usually she was one of the first there in the morning, but she hadn't gotten much sleep and was just thankful she was able to keep her eyes open. She was two cups of coffee deep and it was barely 8am.

“Morning Lieutenant,” she said with a wave as she passed the older man.

“Morning, Harris. Where’s your sidekick?” he asked with a small chuckle.

Ashlyn fought off the blush that was creeping over her cheeks and forced herself to smile. “Um, not sure,” she managed with a shrug. She knew exactly where Ali was, still putting herself together after a crazy night of sex, but hoped Pearce wouldn’t pick up on the lie.

“Hmm, she’s not usually late,” he stated before taking a sip of his coffee. “Just make sure you get everyone on the same page for tonight,” he said simply before turning into his office.

“Yes, sir,” she nodded and then quickly sent a text to Ali telling her to hurry up. She didn’t get a text response, instead receiving a slap on the back from behind her.

“Right here, Harris. Relax a little!” Ali said with a laugh.

Ashlyn’s heart melted at the sound. She swore if there was only one sound she could hear for the rest of her life, it would be Ali’s cute laugh. She turned with a wide grin and shook her head, amazed at how quickly the brunette had put herself together. Her once disheveled hair was not perfectly straight and pulled into a high ponytail and any evidence of their session from the night before had been discreetly covered by what she assumed must have been copious amounts of cover up. Even at 8am in the morning after three hours of sleep, her girl was absolutely stunning.

“Uhh Ashlyn? Earth to Ashlyn?” Ali said with a nose crinkling grin and gently hit her in the forehead with her palm which finally broke Ashlyn from her gaze.

“Glad…glad you’re here,” she quickly responded before taking a sip of coffee, using it as an excuse to buy herself some time to recover.

Ali just shook her head, but was secretly proud that she could still render the blonde speechless after all these months. It made her feel special to be the only girl that could catch the always confidence Ashlyn Harris off guard. “Stop drooling,” Ali teased and patted her cheek gently. “We’ve got work to do, Harris!”

The Detective quickly turned and made her way down the mundane gray hallway towards their desks. She took a seat and handed Ali the extra coffee that she had gotten her on the way in. The brunette smiled in appreciation before plopping down in her seat.

“You are honestly the best,” Ali hummed as she took a sip of the drink. It was perfect, the way she always ordered it and she smiled internally again at how such a simple thing as Ashlyn remembering her coffee order could make her feel like the most special girl in the world.

“I just know what my girl likes,” Ash stated earnestly, and it was true. “So now that we have the important thing out of the way,” she smiled and raised her own cup up in a fake cheers, “let’s get down to business.”

Ali grinned and nodded, before sliding across the floor on her wheelie chair and taking up residence next to Ash in front of her desk. They spent a couple hours or so going over their plans and refreshing their memories on the schematics of the house and layout of the street. This time they were going to double the size of the team and block all exits and roadways within a mile radius. There was no way Mendez could slip them this time.

“So you think two hours before we pull everyone in and go over the plan? That way we can reduce the risk of things somehow getting back to Mendez. I swear he won’t get the drop on us this time,” Ash said ruefully.

Ali nodded. It bothered both of them that they had to be secretive. It wasn’t that they didn’t trust their team, but they were taking all precautions to keep a tight lid on things. “I think three hours. Two for prep and then one for setting up. We also have eyes on the house from across the street so if there’s anything weird or out of place, we’ll know.”

“What’s that address?” Ash asked and jotted it down on her notepad when Ali responded. “Thanks,” she mumbled before flipping it closed and tucking it into her back pocket. She let out a deep sigh before finishing off her third cup of coffee.

Ali could sense Ashlyn’s nervousness. She could hear it in her voice, feel it in her shaky hands and see it in her worried eyes. This was a huge case, for so many reasons. Not only was Mendez the largest drug dealer on the east coast, but he also had cost Ashlyn so much; Walker, her relationship with Jenna, countless nights of sleep and almost Ali.

She took a settling breath and reached across the desk to place her hand over Ashlyn’s, steadying the shaking. “Ash you need to relax,” she said in a quiet, comforting tone. “We’ve planned for everything. We know where he will be, when he will be there and we have every possible exit blocked. This time he is the one who is going to be caught unsuspecting. This time he will be the one to lose everything, not you.”

Ashlyn nodded let her shoulders relax a bit. She knew Ali was right, that they had a plan for every possible scenario and there was no way out of this for him. “I know,” she breathed out, trying to convince herself more so than Ali. “I know. It’s just hard to believe,” she said, managing a small chuckle.

“Yeah well you better believe it, Harris. And you better believe there will be lots of celebrating tonight,” she whispered seductively.

“Oh yeah?” Ash asked over a raised eyebrow.

“Let’s just say Mendez isn’t the only one who is going to be in handcuffs tonight,” Ali added with a wink that immediately sent shivers throughout Ashlyn’s entire body. She absolutely loved when Ali got feisty like this. Usually she took control, but with Ali acting like this, she knew she was in for a long, long night.

A voice broke them from their thoughts and Ashlyn quickly retracted her jaw as Brody came over to join them. “Hey, Brody!” she said with a wave, quickly trying to act normal.

“Sup, Harris,” he said and then nodded towards, Ali, “Krieger.”

“Not much. Just finishing up the last details on the case. We’ll be meeting with the team after lunch to go over it all.”

Brody nodded. “Are we really going to get him this time?”

“Damn, right we are,” Ash said confidently.

“Can’t wait,” he said with a grin. “I’m going to grab some lunch. I know Ash won’t leave her desk until she pours over all those papers a hundred times so you want to ride with me Krieger and we can grab some subs to bring back?”

“Uh no it’s okay. I think I’ll stay here with Ash and look over this stuff some more,” she said nicely as she picked up another file folder.

“Aw come on, Kriegs. You and Harris need to get some food in you. It’s going to be a long day. I’m sure Ash won’t mind you stepping away for a few minutes. Right, Harris?”

Ali looked over at Ashlyn who appeared to still be deep in thought and reading a file. She gave her a light nudge and Ash just nodded, “Uh yeah. Go. I’ll be fine. You know what I like,” she said, finally lifting her head to give Ali a reassuring smile.

Ali felt bad leaving Ash, but knew she wouldn’t eat that day unless Ali literally shoved food in front of her. She needed her energy and focus, so Ali agreed and grabbed her coat before following after Brody.

“We’ll take my car,” he said on their way out.

Twenty minutes later, Ashlyn’s phone began ringing. Without glancing at the Caller ID she reached for her phone and quickly answered it, “This is Harris.”

“You’ve used up all your warnings, Harris.”

“God damnit, who is this?” she whispered yelled into the phone, trying not to cause a scene.

“You know who this is. Your time is up. You move on 42 North tonight and it’s all over.”

With that the line clicked dead and Ashlyn sucked in a deep breath before slamming the phone down onto her desk. “GOD DAMN IT!” Mendez had somehow gotten the drop on them again. She was beyond furious. Where did they slip up? Ricky was in isolation and hadn’t had any guard or prisoner interaction since the night before. The team hadn’t been briefed either, so they wouldn’t know they were moving that night. She opened her phone and checked the battery, noting that she hadn’t been bugged either. How the hell did this happen again? She let out a long sigh, wishing Ali was there to calm her down and think through it all. She replayed the call in her mind, over and finally something clicked. The caller specifically stated the address 42 North. “Oh my god,” she whispered to herself, feeling her heart begin racing. “No. No.” There were only three people who knew about that specific address; her, Ali and Brody.


	41. Dirty Cop

Ashlyn’s mind began racing a mile a minute as everything started to come together. Both times they thought they had Mendez caught, he was always a step ahead of them. And now, this final time, the threat involved a piece of information that only three people were aware of. She tried to search for any other possible explanation, but within seconds realized the worst case scenario was true. Brody was a dirty cop.

It explained his nosiness about Mendez cases, something Ashlyn chalked up to him wanted to revenge Walker’s death. It explained how Mendez always seemed to know the plan, because Brody had always been on the team and would provide him the information. It also explained the new BMW Brody was driving around in and the newer house that most guys on the force would never be able to afford. He was getting kickbacks for protecting Mendez. Kickbacks for putting his own people in danger. Ashlyn was fuming. How could she have been so wrong about him? He was her best friend, the one she went to with everything when Walker died and things got rough. And now she came to find out that he was behind it all. She felt like she took a punch to the gut and fought back the urge to throw up.

Frantically, she grabbed her phone and dialed Ali’s number. She did a silent prayer as it was ringing, willing Ali to answer the phone before it was too late, before Brody got to her. “Come on, Alex. Answer the damn phone,” she whispered under her breath.

“Hi! This is Officer Krieger. I can’t get to my phone right now, but please leave a message and I will return your call as soon as possible.”

“GOD DAMN IT!” screamed Ashlyn as she slammed her fist into the desk.

“Harris! What the hell?” yelled the Lieutenant as he poked his head out of his partially open office door.

Her head whipped around to the man, whose face was scrunched up in some sort of confused anger. “Sorry, Lieutenant,” she grumbled, not wanting any of the attention on herself. She needed to figure this out quickly and involving more people would make it trickier. She knew it wasn’t Ali that Mendez wanted, it was her.

After taking a deep breath that did little to settle the burning feeling rippling throughout her body, she picked up her phone again and waited while it rang, again praying her call would be answered.

“Hey, Harris!”

“Put her on the phone,” she demanded.

“I can’t, Ash…”

He was toying with her already. He had Ali and there was nothing she could do about it. Ashlyn’s blood was boiling. “Brody, you bastard! I swear if you so much as touch her I will make sure you never see another sunrise,” she said through gritted teeth.

“Woah, Harris, chill!” came the voice on the other end.

“Don’t tell me to chill. I know who you are. I know you’re working with Mendez you sick son of a bitch!”

“What…What the fuck are you talking about, Harris?”

The Detective could hear the confusion in his voice, but knew that he was as good of an actor as the rest of them when it came to mirroring feelings. “Don’t play dumb Brody! How does Mendez always get the jump on us! Huh? How does he always know the plan. He’s got someone on the inside and that someone is you! Where’d that new BMW come from? Or the new house? You sure as hell can’t buy that on a Detective’s salary!! Where is she, Brody!”

“First of all, I’m going to pretend that I’m not completely insulted that you’re insinuating I’m a dirty cop for a moment. That new BMW and house was bought with some of my inheritance money from my father. You know my father who died last year? The father whose funeral you attended. Second, Ali is completely fine. And third, we may very well have a mole, but it sure as hell isn’t me, Harris! How could you even think that? Where is this coming from?!”

For a moment, Ashlyn almost let herself be convinced. This was Brody after all, her best friend, her confident. The man who had gotten her through the rough times. She was almost convinced as the emotions came rushing over her, until she remembered why she had settled on him as the mole. “The drop tonight, Brody.”

“What?”

“The drop tonight is at an address I told you yesterday. Only you, Ali and I knew that address. I just received a threat that if we moved on it tonight, that I would regret it. So you told Mendez we had the drop on him and kidnapped Ali to make me pay. Didn’t you!”

“Ash,” Brody said quietly, dropping some of the anger in his voice to convey some form of sincerity. “I’m not working with Mendez.”

“Only three people knew Brody about it and I know for damn sure Ali isn’t working with him. Put her on the phone!” Ash’s mind was reeling and at the moment she didn’t know right from wrong. Brody seemed levelheaded and quite adamant that he was not a dirty cop, the hurt tone in his voice did well to inform her of that. Still, she couldn’t rest until she knew Ali was safe.

“Well it’s not me. And like I said before, I can’t put her on the phone. She’s at the sub shop eating her lunch with Rodgers who met us there. Relax, okay? I just left and she was fine. I left them early to bring you back your lunch and get a jump on going over the plans. He’ll bring her back after they’re done and we can sort this all out. Whatever you’re thinking about me Harris, it’s wrong. You’re probably reading too much into this.”

She relaxed a bit at his words, leaning towards trusting him again. Ali was safe. Ali was with Rodgers and Ali was most definitely enjoying a delicious sub. Even at that thought, she couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling in her stomach that something wasn’t quite right. “I’m not so sure, Brody. This threat felt different. It didn’t seem as hollow as the others. Did you tell anyone at all about 42 North?”

“No one. I swear!” Brody responded earnestly, but it was soon followed by a gasp as he thought back on his morning.

“What?” Ashlyn asked hurriedly.

“Did you say the address was 42 North, Harris?”

“Yes…” Ash replied hesitantly. “Why?”

“Rodgers…Rodgers mentioned that address to me earlier. He mentioned the drop being at 42 North.”

“You didn’t tell him?” she asked, desperately hoping that Brody would remember he slipped up with the information.

“I swear I didn’t tell anyone. How would he know that?”

 

Ashlyn closed her eyes and pressed the back of her head into the headrest of the driver’s seat. Her worst case scenario was coming true. “He knows it because he’s the one working with Mendez.” Though she had the wrong man, she had been right about one thing; Ali was in danger.

The realization hit them both full force, and “I have to go, Harris. Call her. Call her now! I’m going to try to catch them before they leave the restaurant!”

With that, the line went dead and Ashlyn was left staring at the blank screen of her phone. She couldn’t believe it. While she was glad her best friend wasn’t dirty, it resulted in another friend being the leak. A close friend who also happened to be one of the best Detectives on the force. Her mind was riddled with guilt and fears. She had just accused her best friend of being a dirty cop and kidnapping her girlfriend. She had said horrible things that she could apologize for, but never take back. And now, now he was her only hope for getting to Ali in time, for getting to Ali before Rodgers could. After everything he had done for it, it killed Ash that she had doubted Brody so quickly, but amazed her even more that he so quickly pushed it aside and was ready to lay his life on the line to help her again. That one small thought brought a smile to her face. If they made it out of this, she owed Brody her life.

For a moment, Ash just wished time would stand still. With everything happening and moving so quickly she needed to jump right into action, but more than anything she just wanted time to freeze so she could process it all. That wasn’t how things worked though so she quickly grabbed her phone and dialed Ali’s number again. When it went straight to voice mail she had to resist the urge to put her fist through the window. “Please get there in time, Brody,” she whispered to herself as she said a silent prayer in her head. That was her only hope.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GOTCHA! Also whoever suggested Ali was the dirty cop...I totally thought about it, but couldn't really work a way in where there would still be a happy ending and I just love my happy endings lol Let me know what you guys think :)


	42. Twenty Minutes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks everyone for all the comments! I really enjoy interacting with you and hearing your input on the story! With that being said...get ready for some drama filled chapters. This one is coming to an end soon, maybe 5 more chapters or so. Thanks for sticking with me :)

After pacing back and forth for twenty minutes, Ash couldn’t wait any longer to hear. She knew the sub shop they all went to was only fifteen minutes away and she should have heard something, anything by now. Even if Ali and Rodgers had been gone when Brody got there, he surely would have called to come up with another plan.

She grabbed her phone off of her desk and dialed Ali’s number again, thinking this time it would be different. Unfortunately for her it wasn’t and once again went straight to voicemail. She cursed under her breath and quickly dialed Brody’s number.

“Hey, Harris!” came the voice from the other end.

“Thank god, Brody. I was getting worried since you didn’t call! Did you get there in time? Where’s Rodgers? Is Ali okay?”

“Oh Harris, I really wish you wouldn’t have just said all of that.”

In that moment, the voice on the other end finally clicked. Rodgers had answered Brody’s phone. “Rodgers,” she grumbled under her breath.

“Well I see you finally put the pieces together,” Rodgers said with a cold laugh. “I didn’t think it would be this fast so it’s a good thing I work quickly.”

The second laugh that left his mouth sent cold shivers down Ashlyn’s spine. This was not the fun-loving Rodgers that she thought she knew. Even his voice had changed, becoming cruel and void of emotion as he spoke. “What the hell do you want?” she hissed through the phone as she walked out to the parking lot to give herself some more privacy.

“Well I wanted to do this all low key, but you had to go and get our buddy Brody involved. Why’d you have to do that, Harris? This was supposed to be quick and easy and now it seems that the bodies are just going to be piling up.”

“What did you do to him?” she hissed.

“He’s alive, if that’s what you’re asking, but I can’t promise for how long. He’s in the trunk and we’re on the way to Mendez so your guess is as good as mine as to what will happen to him.”

“What do you want?” she yelled into the phone.

“Hey, you were warned to leave Mendez alone. You just couldn’t let it go, could you Harris? Always gotta be the hero and catch the bad guy, right?”

“What does he want!” she screamed, thankful that she was secluded in her car so that no one could hear her.

“He wants to send you a message. That’s what he wants.”

“I get it! I’ll back off,” Ash quickly replied, hoping that it would work, but knowing better. That’s never how these things worked. “Just let them go.”

“Good joke, Ash. You couldn’t let it go after Walker died. You couldn’t let it go after Krieger got shot, and now look at you. You’ll be burying another partner and once again it will be all your fault.”

As the fire raged on in her body, she fought the tears back. She wouldn’t let him hear her cry. No way in hell. “Why, Rodgers?” she asked, almost in a defeated voice. “Why are you doing this?”

“Nothing personal, Harris. Mendez just made me an offer I couldn’t refuse last year.”

Ashlyn could feel her heart breaking all over again. Rodgers had sold them out the first time when Walker was killed too. “I trusted you. Brody trusted you. You were our friend!” It was all becoming too much and she felt the world begin to spin around her. Everything she had known had either been flipped upside down or stolen away from her.

“Yeah well it was easy to fake with the money Mendez was paying me. Like I said nothing personal.”

“Damnit, Rodgers you asshole! Where is she?! Where are you taking them!” Ashlyn yelled through phone as another wave of anger ripped through her. “I swear if anything happens to her…”

“What are you going to do, Harris? I’ll be on a plane before you get the chance. But don’t worry, I’m sure Mendez will take reallyyy nice care of a pretty girl like her,” Rodgers added sarcastically.

“I swear Rodgers that if anything happens to her I will not rest until you are six feet under,” she growled under her breath. In reality, she knew it wasn’t the likely outcome, but it made her feel a tiny bit better to say it. To strike some semblance of fear into him that she wouldn’t rest until he was dead.

“Face it, Harris. There is no way you win in this scenario. Ali and Brody will be dead within the hour, your little drug bust will fail and I’ll be on a plane to some exotic island with a suitcase full of money. I win and you lose. It’s that simple.”

“You won’t get away with this!” she warned. “Once we get Mendez, we’ll come for you.”

“That’s where you’re mistaken, Detective.” There was a pause on the line for a moment before Rodgers sighed and began speaking again. “Speak of the devil, here Mendez is now. He’d like to speak to the famous Detective Ashlyn Harris. Here…”

The phone shuffled a bit before a low, cold voice spoke on the other end. “Ahhhh Detective Harris. It seems that I finally have your attention after all this time. Are you finally ready to listen?”

“Let them go and we can forget this even happened.” Ashlyn was begging, but didn’t care. She just needed them safe. She knew she wouldn’t survive this if Ali didn’t come out alive.

“You were warned. You were told to keep your distance or face the consequences, but you ignored it. And now, here’s your consequences. I have your girlfriend and thanks to you getting even more people involved, I have a Detective Brody as well. I keep my promises, Detective,” sneered Mendez from the other end. “You will regret ignoring the warnings.”

Ashlyn could hear the evil in his voice. Mendez was as cruel as they came. He wouldn’t hesitate to take his own men out for trivial reasons and she knew he would have even less regard for a cop. Especially a cop that the Ashlyn Harris loved. She had ruined his last two deals and he wanted her out of the picture. Now he had two people that she loved and all the power was in his court. This was a warning shot, plain and simple. She could feel her heart racing, and the cold sweat breaking out across her body. Ali, once again, was going to be the victim of a man she should have put away a year ago. It was all her fault. There was only one thing that came to her mind, to try to salvage the situation. It was the only way to possibly keep Ali safe and that was all that mattered to her. Standing in front of Ali’s hospital bed many months ago she had vowed just that and she wasn’t going to break that promise now. If Mendez truly wanted Ashlyn out of the way, she would give him that opportunity. 

“You don’t want her. She’s nothing to you and doesn’t have anything to do with this.” She took a deep breath that failed to settle her nerves. She was way past that point now. “Take…take me. Take me instead and let them go.”

“Hmmm a tempting offer,” he responded slowly as if he was actually pondering it. “The famous Detective Harris is offering herself up for her pretty brunette partner and her little officer sidekick. How noble of you,” he laughed.

“I’ll do anything,” she desperately pleaded.

After a brief pause, Mendez finally responded. “Twenty minutes. The corner of Mason and Smith. There will be a black SUV parked. Get in it.”

“And you’ll let them go,” she tried to clarify.

“Let’s just put it this way, if you’re not there, then I definitely won’t let them go. No cops. No one trailing you. No guns. Nothing funny, or Miss Krieger here will receive a bullet from, coincidentally, the same gun that ended your first partner’s life. Tisk tisk, Detective. You need to take better care of them. Your partners really do meet some unfortunate fates,” he snickered.

Before Ash could agree, she needed to know that Ali was still alive. “Put her on the phone.”

“You don’t give the orders here, Detective.”

“God damnit I said put her on the phone! I need to know she’s alive.”

After a moment of shuffling, Ashlyn heard another familiar voice.

“Ash! Ashlyn is that you!”

Ash couldn’t hold back the tears anymore. She let out a breath she didn’t know she had been holding when she heard her girlfriend’s voice on the other end. “Alex, it’s me. It’s me. Oh god, I’m so sorry baby. Are you okay? Please tell me they haven’t hurt you!”

Through sniffles on the other end, Ashlyn could hear her reply. “I’m okay, Ashlyn. I’m okay and so is Brody, but please don’t come here. Please, Ashlyn. Don’t come here.”

“I have to, Alex. I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t. I promise you that I’ll get you out of there, okay? I promise.” She was trying to hold it together, trying to be strong for Ali. She could only imagine where she was and what was happening around her. She wanted to take it all away. She wanted to switch spots with her and make it all go away. “I’m coming for you.”

“Ashlyn, NO! They’re going to kill us anyw-”

“THAT’S ENOUGH!” said Mendez as he yanked the phone away from a distraught Ali. “You have twenty minutes, Harris.”

With that the line went dead.


	43. Flashbacks & Looking Forward

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I didn't get around to posting yesterday! The flashback parts are in italics as usual. Hope you enjoy :)

Ashlyn didn’t waste any time as soon as the line went dead. With Ali’s and Brody’s life at stake, she couldn’t afford to. She knew the intersection where Mendez wanted her to meet well and she barely had enough time to get there. She quickly grabbed her coat and car keys and sprinted out to the parking lot. After ripping open the door and sliding into her Jeep she quickly punched the intersection into her GPS to check the traffic routes. Deciding on the one with least traffic, that still said it would take 25 minutes, she peeled out of the parking lot and floored it. There was no way she would be late and give Mendez the satisfaction of hurting the people she loved.

Her heart was racing as she swerved around cars, cursing at everyone that got in her way. She thought she was going to lose it when she pulled up to what had to be the fifth red light in a row. Letting out a string of curse words, she slammed her fists into the steering wheel. What now had become an obstacle to what she wanted most, had just the other day been a welcome sight.

 

_“Ali stop it,” Ashlyn laughed and smacked the brunette’s hand away. “I mean it!"_

_Ali knew she didn’t mean in. Even though Ashlyn was telling her to stop, she couldn’t hide the smile that was curling up her lips. “Oh yeah you look like you really want me to stop,” she teased and she slid her hand back over the center console and onto her partner’s knee.”_

_The Detective was grinning widely now. She knew was Ali was playing at and she really had no willpower when it came to the sexy brunette. “Alex,” she warned again as she dropped her eyes to the hand that was now grazing her inner thigh. The warm feeling of her fingers sliding up her leg made her heart flutter. She brought her eyes up just in time to see a car slam on the brakes in front of them. She let out a shriek and quickly swerved into the other lane to avoid hitting the other car. “Jesus, Alex! I’m trying to drive!” she chastise the brunette who just looked up at her and bit her lip._

_“It’s not my fault you can’t multi-task,” Ali shrugged, but quickly retracted her hand._

_Ashlyn already missed the contact and let out a frustrated sigh._

_“Aww what’s the matter?” Ali asked coyly._

_“Shut it,” Ashlyn replied through gritted teeth. She shook her head as Ali just erupted into a fit of giggles._

_“Aww looks like big bad Detective Harris can’t focus on driving and getting fucked at the same time,” she said seductively, grinning at how wide Ashlyn’s eyes got in response._

_“Alex!” she hissed and slapped her hand away. “We’re at work!"_

_“Oh please. That’s never stopped you before, Harris. What are you worried about getting a ticket for reckless driving?”_

_“I’m not worried about a ticket,” Ashlyn laughed at the suggestion. “I know plenty of people that could get me off.”_

_Ali stifled her giggle and couldn’t resist. “I know someone who can get you off too,” she purred and slipped her hands underneath the blonde’s waistband as they finally pulled up to a red light._

 

She shook her head, shaking the memory from her thoughts. She couldn’t believe the irony of how quickly things really did change. Well, everything seemed to be changing quickly except for the red light in front of her. While her left foot anxiously tapped up and down she bit her bottom lip and tried to think of a way out of all of this. If she was being honest with herself, she knew that the chance of Mendez actually letting Ali go was extremely small. The fact was that Mendez was a cold and ruthless man and when he had a score to settle he usually left a pile of bodies in his wake. As nervous as the Detective was to walk into the lion’s den, there was no way she could pass up the chance, no matter how slim, that he would let her sacrifice herself for Ali. It was a trade she was more than willing to make. No matter what, she had promised to keep Ali safe.

 

_“I love you. You know that right?” Ashlyn asked, as she looked down at Ali who was curled up around her in bed._

_“Of course I know that,” she replied with a genuine smile. “I hope you know that I love you too Ashlyn Michelle Harris.”_

_“I know you do.” She planted a kiss to the mess of brunette hair that was resting on her shoulder. “I just want you to know that this is more to me than just sex,” she finally said quietly._

_Ali laughed and lifted her head a bit so she could meet her partner’s eyes. “As amazing and mind blowing as the sex is, Ash, it wouldn’t be worth all of this lying and sneaking around JUST for sex.”_

_“Oh it’s mind blowing, huh?” Ashlyn asked cockily over a raised eyebrow._

_The brunette just playfully smacked her. “Leave it to you to go from cute and sappy to a cocky asshole in less than two seconds.”_

_“Hey you said it first!” Ashlyn squeaked in defense. “Although I have to agree. Yesterday when I had you pinned against the shower wall and you were screaming my name. God that turned me on so much.”_

_“Or the other day when you took me on the kitchen counter right when you got home from work. You were so hot in your uniform. Dinner was so cold after!” Ali laughed._

_They looked into each other’s eyes smiling for a minute, just appreciating the silence that comfortably settled between them. Most of their days were hectic and boisterous and it was nice to just be able to enjoy each other’s company in the peace and quiet for once._

_Ashlyn wiped the hair out of Ali’s face and planted a kiss to her nose. “You know I’ll do anything to protect you, right?”_

_“Ash where is this coming from?” Ali asked seriously._

_“I know you’re going back to work tomorrow and although I trust you completely and know that you’re amazing at your job, I just want you to know that I would do anything to protect you.”_

_“We’re partners. It comes with the territory,” Ali shrugged. She knew Ashlyn was implying something deeper, but didn’t want to get too sentimental, she just wanted to get in the Detective’s pants again at the current moment._

_“Alex you know what I mean. Partners or not, I love you and I would do anything for you. I hope you know that.”_

_Ali sighed, well aware of the fact that the mood had shifted and she wasn’t going to get any soon. “I know, Ash. I feel the same way.”_

_“Well glad we’re on the same page,” she said with a yawn._

_“Let’s get some sleep,” Ali said before snuggling up into the blonde’s side._

_Ashlyn wrapped her arm tightly around her girl and pulled her in close. She planted a kiss on her forehead and sighed happily. Her thoughts drifted off to the future that she hoped to have. The future that most definitely involved Ali, and babies and vacations in Florida. She fell asleep with a smile on her face, but not before whispering “I’ll always keep you safe.”_

 

As Ashlyn finally pulled up to the intersection Mendez directed her to she glanced down at her watch and realized she had five minutes to spare. Luckily for her, she was a cop and didn’t have to worry about getting a speeding ticket. Not that it would likely matter after this. She thought into the future and what it was likely going to hold for her and how things were going to end up. Though the decision to essentially trade her life for Ali's was something she would easily make again, she couldn't help but feel the pangs of sadness at what she would be leaving behind. After taking a few deeps breaths she pulled out her phone and dialed, smiling sadly when she heard the sweet voice say hello on the other end.

“Hey grandma,” she said, quietly, trying to shield the old woman from her emotions.

“Ashlyn! It’s so nice to hear from you. How’s my favorite girl doing?” said her grandma happily. She was completely unaware of the circumstances and was just happy to hear her granddaughter’s voice.

“I’m…I’m okay, grandma. How are you?” She was really struggling not to get choked up.

“I’m doing well. How’s Ali doing? You two need to come visit me again soon.”

That was it, the tears started falling. She quickly wiped them off and took a settling breath, knowing her time was limited. “Yeah. We miss you too. Of course we’ll come visit. Hey, I have to get going, but I just wanted to tell you that I love you and that I couldn’t have asked for a more amazing woman to raise me.”

The older woman was finally catching onto Ashlyn’s tone and unusual. Not that the blonde was ever short of compliments for her, but this, this felt different. There seemed to be more sadness behind it, a deeper meaning. “You know that I am so proud of the woman you have become, Ashlyn. You’re my pride and joy. Is everything all right, sweetheart?” she asked sweetly, not wanting to let Ashlyn in on her real worry.

“Yeah it’s great!” she lied, wiping away the last of her tears with the back of her hand. Then she saw the black SUV pull up across the street. It was time. “Hey, I’ve got to get going now though. I love you. I love you so so much.”

“I love you too, Ashlyn. You be safe now.”

“Always. Goodbye, Grandma.”


	44. Goodbyes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning...there's some violence and language and angst...lots of angst...

The Detective took a few deep breaths to try and calm herself down. She tossed her phone on the passenger seat and shoved her gun into the glove compartment before exiting the car. After looking both ways, she crossed the street and carefully approached the SUV. As she got closer a man dressed in a black suit stepped out and ordered her to get in the back seat. She eyed him carefully, trying to gather as much information as possible. Besides his tall stature, obvious muscle and nice fashion sense, Ashlyn also noted the gun that was tucked into a holster when he lifted his arm to point for her to get in. It wasn’t much, but at least she knew where one weapon was located. When she slid into the middle, a hood was immediately yanked over her head. Though it caught her off guard, she had expected as much and didn’t fight it. This car was the only way for her to find Ali and Brody and as much as she hated the notion, she was left at their mercy.

As they drove, Ash kept her eyes closed and tried to follow the movements of the car. It worked for the first few minutes, but fifteen minutes into the ride she was completely turned around. She could tell they had entered the highway, but after all of the twists and turns before that, she had no idea which way they got on it. After twenty minutes, the vehicle finally came to a halt. Ashlyn heard three doors open, signaling that there were two people in the front seat and the one man who was next to her. Three men and most likely at least three guns. The thought was daunting.

Suddenly, she felt the barrel of a gun pushed into her lower back and was ordered to walk. She felt the gravel crunching underneath her feet and the slight sounds of the highway nearby. It wasn’t enough to tell her where they were, but at least they were close to the highway. That made rescue changes slightly higher, even though no one knew where they were or that they were even missing.

A door was yanked open in front of her and after stepping over the threshold, the hood was yanked off of her head. She blinked a few times and tried to adjust to the dim light as the three men well-dressed men that surrounded her kept walking forwards. They were in a hall way that was formed with brick walls and large wooden doors. She figured it must have been one of the abandoned factories in the city and cursed under her breath. There had to be hundreds of buildings like this. Little by little, her slim hope of rescue slipped further and further away.

At the end of the tight hallway, the group stopped. The tallest of the three men pushed Ash against the wall and began to frisk her. “Got any weapons on you Detective?” he asked as he roughly dragged his hands all over her body.

“No,” she mumbled, wishing she could give the guy what he really deserved when he cupped her breast for the third time.

“She’s clean,” he sneered and the other two men laughed.

“You sure you don’t need someone else to check her?” joked the man who had opened the car door for her.

Ash mustered up her fiercest look and stared into his beady, black eyes. “Try it and see what happens,” she challenged through gritted teeth.

Just as the man stepped up towards her with an evil smirk, the door in front of them jerked open. “Mendez is waiting. What’s taking so long?” questioned a younger, shorter man.

Ashlyn couldn’t help, but think he looked like he still belonged in high school. She wondered what had happened that made him stray from the straight and narrow path. He seemed athletic and was definitely good looking, polished even for a drug dealer with soft green eyes that still had a light of innocence to them. They definitely weren’t the eyes of a drug dealer, but here he was, working as one of Mendez’s Lieutenants. She hoped that she wouldn’t have to shoot him later, but knew she wouldn’t hesitate to if it really came down to it. That was one thing she regretted about her jobs, the lives she had to take. The lives that she thought she could change if given the chance. But they always picked up the gun, always pointed it at her and when it came down to it, it was them or her.

“We was just having some fun with the lady cop, Lucas. Relax,” the man replied and took another step to close the distance between him and Ashlyn.

“Mendez wants her NOW Vic,” Lucas said, irritated that the older man had dismissed him so easily.

Victor turned and shot the boy an annoyed glance. “Fine, but I get a go at the pretty brunette before this all ends,” he said with a shrug.

The four men all nodded and then pushed Ashlyn through the door into a larger room. Ashlyn’s heart skipped when she looked at the sight before her. Ali was tied to a chair with duct tape over her mouth while Brody was on knees, hands bound behind his back. Standing between them was the man she hated most on Earth, Mendez. His tailored, light grey suit was in stark contrast to the darkness and stuffiness of the room, but it was his signature. No matter what, the man was always wearing a suit as a sign of his wealth, perfectly polished from head to toe. Ashlyn immediately wanted to throw up when she saw him holding two guns, one pointed at Ali while the other was pointed at Brody. She couldn’t even form words as she looked back between the two trying her best to apologize with her eyes, since words had left her.

“So we finally meet face to face, Detective,” came Mendez’s booming voice from the middle of the room.

“I’m here. Let them go,” she ordered with all the authority she could muster.

Mendez and his men laughed at the shakiness in her voice as she tried to make her demand.

“You don’t seem to be in any position to give orders, Detective Harris. Does she boys?”

As he looked around at his men, Ashlyn took the time to survey the rest of the room. No windows, and the only two doors was the one she came in through and the one opposite of it across the expansive room. No room for escape and no likelihood that anyone would hear their screams, or gunshots for that matter. Behind Mendez stood Lucas with his hand on his hip where she assumed a gun was holstered, and next to Ashlyn stood the three men that had picked her up in the SUV and brought her there. They were outnumbered 3-5 which weren’t terrible odds if she ignored the fact that Ali and Brody were tied up already and that they had no weapons.

“I’m here. Just let them go.”

“Ah ah ah, Detective,” he said and wagged his finger back and forth while still holding both guns up. “I got lucky and got a 2 for 1 special when Rodgers brought them in. I can’t pass up a deal like that. So here’s the deal, I’ll let one of them go, but you have to choose.”

“Get Ali out of here!” yelled Brody selflessly, before he was quickly pistol-whipped by Mendez.

“Did I mention the one you don’t pick gets a bullet through the chest?” he sneered, his black eyes burning through Ashlyn’s with a heated anger when they met.

“Don’t do this,” she pleaded, ignoring the laughs of the men around her. “Please.”

“Choose, Harris!” he bellowed.

“Mendez, god damnit don’t do this! You have me, just let them go.”

“Choose or I’ll do it for you!”

Ashlyn looked back and forth between the two. Brody had a stream of blood trickling down his face and he was nodding, he wanted it to be Ali to go free. She looked over to Ali whose face was tear stained and panic stricken. Her eyes seemed blank and distant, like she wasn’t even really there in the moment. How could she choose between them? Brody had saved her life so many times in the field before, but Ali, Ali was her life.

Before she could even respond, a gun shot rang through the room. Brody’s body slumped over and a pool of blood began to form underneath his body.

“Too late. I chose for you,” Mendez simply stated as he bent over and wiped off some of Brody’s blood that had spattered on the toe of his black Italian leather shoe.

“NOOOOOOOOOOO!” Ashlyn screamed. “BRODY, NO!” Tears were pouring down her face as she looked over at her best friend’s lifeless body. She tried to rush towards him, but was held back by two of Mendez’s men. Struggling against them, she lifted her finger and pointed towards him, “You bastard! You are going to pay for this!”

“Now now, Detective. I would use better manners if I were you,” he said with a smile, his pearly white teeth reflecting across the room. “We still have Miss Krieger to deal with and I think you would be wise to show me some respect.”

Ashlyn tore her eyes from Brody and looked over at Ali who had slumped in the chair, her head hanging low as her shoulders shook and tears poured down her face. She couldn’t bear to look at the scene in front of her. Brody had been there to save her and now he was dead. She was hopeless; it was hopeless.

The blonde settled a bit when the realization hit her that Mendez could just as easily end Ali’s life as well. As hurt and distraught as she was, she knew she had to be strong for Ali. It was their only chance. “You got what you wanted. Let her go. Please.” She raised her eyes to meet Mendez and waited for him to speak.

“You have two minutes to say goodbye,” Mendez stated and nodded towards Ali.

His men released their grip on Ashlyn and she sprinted to Ali’s side, still in shock of what had just happened, but more so that Mendez was being true to his word. She gently lifted her head by her chin and looked into her eyes before ripping the duct tape off her mouth. Ali would normally have winced, but her nerves all seemed dead at the moment. All she could feel was Ashlyn’s warm grip on her arms and the comfort of her embrace.

Ashlyn slid her arms so that she had Ali wrapped in a tight embrace. She buried her face into her neck and even though she wanted to look into her eyes for comfort and reassurance, she didn’t want Mendez or his men to listen in on their intimate moment. “Alex, I am so sorry,” Ashlyn stated sincerely. “I’m so sorry you had to go through this and that I got us into this mess. I love you so much, baby.”

“I love you too, Ash. I told you not to come though!” she yelled, but there wasn’t anger behind it, just sadness.

“I promised you I’d come for you. I couldn’t live with myself if anything happened to you and I sat back and did nothing. I couldn’t stay away.”

“But…but, Brody,” she whispered.

Ashlyn’s head dropped a bit and she looked over her shoulder to the body. “I know, baby. But he knew what he was getting into. He loved you too. We were all a family and sometimes you have to sacrifice for each other.”

“Don’t do it, Ash,” Ali said through her tears and rested her forehead on the blonde’s. She knew that Ashlyn was saying goodbye because she was sacrificing herself. She was trading her life for Ali’s. “I can’t live without you. I can’t.” The tears were now streaming full force as she realized the end of their time together was drawing near. Ali began to shake as the realization hit her full force. She didn’t want to live in a world without Ashlyn, she didn’t even think it was possible for her to.

“I have to, Alex. But don’t be sad.” She lifted her chin again so their eyes met. Ash felt strangely comforted by Ali’s big, brown eyes, something that blew her away considering the circumstances. But as she looked into them, she knew she was doing the right thing. She loved this woman more than words could even express, and by her judgment she had less than a minute to try and explain just how much that was. “Ali, I want you to know that I love you more than I’ve loved anyone in my entire life. You are the most amazing person I have met and it has been an honor having the privilege to love you. As short as our time was together I wouldn’t trade it for the world. When you walk out of here, don’t look back. I want you to live your life, an amazing life filled with love and happiness and babies and a big house with a white picket fence. You deserve all of that. I will be okay. Just knowing that I got the chance to love such an amazing woman even for a short time is more than enough for me. All I want now is for you to be safe. Can you do that for me, Alex? Can you just get out of here and not look back?”

Just as Ali began to speak, laughter broke through the room. They whipped their heads around to see Mendez doubled over, his hands on his knees, laughing.

“Harris, when I told you to say goodbye did you really think I meant that I was letting her go?” At his statement the rest of the men began laughing. “Oh, that is too good. We’re just getting started here!”

“Wha...what do you mean?” Ashlyn asked nervously, realizing that things were too good to be true. “You told me you’d let her go and to say goodbye…” her voice trailed off as she looked back and forth between Ali and Mendez with a confused face, searching for answers that she should have already known the answers to.

“Oh, well I’m sorry for the miscommunication, Detective. I just thought I’d give you the courtesy of saying goodbye before I shot you both.”


	45. All I've Got

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning...lots of violence and language...again. I've got about 4 chapters left in this one. Oh, did I mention there was more angst too? Lots of that! ;)

Before Ash could even react to his cold statement, two pairs of strong hands ripped her from Ali’s arms and slammed her into a chair. Her hands were secured behind her back and when she tried to fight it she earned a swift punch to the temple. Her head rolled to the side and her vision became foggy as she tried to recover from the strike. After a moment she pushed the haze from her mind and tried to find a way out of this. Looking around the room she found no refuge. Brody was dead, Ali and her were tied up to chairs and no one even knew where they were. All that was left, was to beg.

“Let her go!” she yelled as she watched Mendez eyeing Ali up and down, his eyes tracing up her long legs. It made her skin crawl and she knew that death was going to be the least of their worries with him.

Mendez sat down in a chair across from Ashlyn and unbuttoned his suit coat. He didn’t make eye contact with her, instead pulled out a handkerchief and began to polish his pistol. “Detective did I ever tell you about the day we met?”

Ashlyn wasn’t in the mood for a story, but was desperate to buy them time. More importantly, buy Ali time. “No, you didn’t. Was that the day you shot my partner?”

“Actually, funny enough, it was a few years prior to that. I didn’t quite have this empire yet so you probably didn’t even know who I was at the time.”

He paused in obvious anticipation so Ashlyn decided to fill the silence, “Okay…”

“Well that day you were on a drug bust as just a little, young Officer. Barely had earned your stripes and when things got a little out of hand and people started shooting, you had this look in your eyes. You had never killed anyone, let alone fired your gun in the line of duty. I could tell as much from your eyes, they were still innocent.”

“Yeah I remember that day,” she said sadly, easily remembering the first day that she had killed someone on the job.

“Ah you do remember,” Mendez said intuitively as he read the Detective’s reaction to his prompt. “You remember shooting and killing my little brother Julian, then?”

The name flashed through her head, Julian Moreno. She would never forget that name, she carried it with her everywhere. He was so young, but pointed the gun at her all the same. Even though it was a textbook shooting, that didn’t mean that it didn’t still haunt her. “Your…your brother? But his last name was…”

“Moreno. He didn’t get my deadbeat father’s last name,” Mendez finished the sentence and answered the question for her.”

Suddenly it all made sense. The threats, the warning shots, the actual shots; they weren’t just business. It was personal to Mendez too. Very personal. How could she have missed it? There was no way Mendez would let her go or ever let her out of his sights. “He picked up the gun and pointed it at me. It was my job!” Ashlyn said defending herself. She was angry that all of this was because Mendez couldn’t keep his brother off of the streets.

“He was a boy!” Mendez screamed back.

“THEN YOU SHOULD HAVE DONE A BETTER JOB PROTECTING HIM! DON’T PUT THIS ON ME!” she screamed, putting the blame back to where it belonged.

“That is enough talking,” Mendez said coldly as he set his gun down and pushed the chair back. He took a few steps towards Ali with a sinister grin. “You took the person I loved most in this world, and now I’m going to take yours. Watching you fall apart after Walker was great and the Brody reaction was pretty great. You should have seen your face, Harris! As fun as all of that was though, I’m glad I waited to finish you off. Now you can really see what it is like to lose someone you love. Who knows, I may just let you go after this so you, like I, have to live a lifetime knowing what it’s like to have a hole ripped in your heart.”

“Don’t do this, Mendez. Please don’t do this,” she pleaded, swallowing her pride as she watched the man’s grin grow bigger.

He walked up to her and punched her hard, connecting with her temple. “Buck up, Detective. I can’t have you all weak in the knees already. We haven’t even had our fun yet,” he replied with a sneer.

Ashlyn watched with a burning cheek as Mendez walked over to Ali’s and ran his fingers down her arm. “It really is such a shame that you had to bring her into this,” he said with a sign. “She is quite the specimen,” he continued, leaving his hands resting on Ali’s shoulders.

“Let her go. Please don’t hurt her.” Ashlyn couldn’t take it anymore. She couldn’t watch him touch Ali.

“Aw come on, Harris. I know how to treat my ladies. Look at her,” he said. “She looks hot, maybe if we take this off we can help her cool down,” he said nonchalantly, before ripping Ali’s blouse off of her, exposing her camisole.

Ashlyn was losing it. She couldn’t bear to watch the woman she loved be victimized like that. Her wrists were being rubbed raw as she tried to loosen her restraints. No matter what she had to give, she couldn’t let this happen. Not to her Ali.

Just then someone came bursting through the door. Ashlyn jerked her eyes up, hopeful that help had come, but it was the last person she wanted to see.

“RODGERS YOU SCUMBAG!” she screamed, fighting against her restraints in an attempt to get at him.

“Well seems like you have quite the fan, Rodgers,” Mendez said with a laugh. “Did you take care of what I asked you to, Detective?” he asked Rodgers pointedly.

“Yes, sir. You’re all set to bring the stuff in. I just got off the phone with the Lieutenant. Told him Harris and Krieger got sick at lunch and he put me in charge of running the op tonight. Little does he know I’ll be on a plane getting far away from this hell hole,” he added with a laugh.

Mendez turned to his men, “Julio, Greg and Vic, go get the stuff ready and take it to the stash house. We’ll finish up here and meet up after.”

The men nodded and as they filed out of the room, Rodgers finally met Ashlyn’s glare.

She couldn’t believe he was just standing there watching everything unfold and doing nothing but laughing and joking with Mendez. “How could you?” she asked, the pain and disappointment evident in her voice as she shook her head.

“Nothing personal, Ash,” he said with a shrug, though he felt a pang of guilt when he saw Ali with her top off and the blood trickling down Ashlyn’s temple.

“Brody’s dead,” she said and nodded to the body lying on the ground next to Rodger’s feet, “and we’re next…” she said, her voice trailing off. “How could you betray us all like that?”

Before Rodgers could respond, Mendez interrupted, “Sorry to quash this little family reunion, but we have work to do. You’re excused, Detective,” he nodded to Rodgers and waved him off with a flick of his wrist.

“Where’s my money?” he asked coolly, waiting to be paid before he took off.

Mendez let out a sinister laugh and tapped his gun lightly against his chin, “You don’t honestly think I was going to pay you a million dollars for that woman, do you?” he asked, pointing his gun at Ashlyn now.

“That was the deal,” Rodgers responded through gritted teeth as he moved his hand discreetly towards his hip where his gun was.

“Well the deal changed,” Mendez said and quickly unloaded two bullets into Rodger’s chest. He dropped to the floor next to Brody, quickly adding to the pool of blood.

Ashlyn and Ali screamed, unable to believe how quickly the bodies were piling up and how little respect Mendez had for a life, even if it was the man who had betrayed them.

“Now where were we?” he said as he took steps towards where the girls were sitting tied to their chairs.

Ashlyn cast a glance to the other man in the room, the young boy who she first met in the hallway, but he quickly diverted his eyes.

“Me first,” Ashlyn begged while she watched Mendez look back and forth between them in obvious thought. She would do anything she could to buy Ali more time.

“So noble of you, Detective. You’re going wish it would be quick,” he said with a sneer as he walked over and landed an upper cut to her jaw.

Ashlyn was seeing stars, but didn’t have time to recover before another blow landed in her ribs. She could have sworn she felt something crack and could hear Ali screaming out, but there was nothing she could do. Not due to lack of trying, she hadn’t been able to free her hands which meant she was helpless. All she could do was prolong it as long as possible. If Mendez was focusing on her, he wasn’t focusing on Ali. “Is…is that all you got?” she coughed out after spitting up some blood that resulted from another round of blows.

Mendez paused, clearly not expecting that reaction, but a wide grin spread across his face. There was the feisty Detective he thought she was. “Get her to her feet,” he commanded and Lucas quickly ran over and began to untie her hands.

He yanked her to her feet, unfortunately exposing more of her torso. Ali was frantically screaming out to get him to stop, but Mendez just slapped her across the face to quiet her before turning back to Ash. “Just sit back and enjoy the show brown eyes,” he chided to Ali as he wound up and punched the blonde straight in the stomach. Ash’s knees sagged a bit as she continually lost her strength and breath at the force of the blow. She was trying to keep Mendez’s attention, but she didn’t know how much of this she could take. As Mendez turned back around to grab something off the table to either finish her or ramp up the fun. Ash knew it was now or never when her eyes fell on the pipe, gun and knife lying there.

She pulled her elbow back and rammed it into Lucas’s side with all the force she could muster. He immediately dropped to the ground clutching his stomach and Ash turned and rammed her boot into his face, knocking him backwards and covering his bleeding face with his hands. Mendez turned at the commotion just in time to see Ashlyn hurling her body at him, eyes a fiery red with rage. This was the moment she wanted, the moment she had dreamed about since Walker was killed, the desire only burning greater with each subsequent attack on the people she loved. She knocked Mendez off his feet and he landed squarely on his back with Ashlyn on top of him. They fought for the top position for a moment, before Ash was able to reach her hands down and place them around Mendez’s neck. He strained against her, but her adrenaline was giving her a whole new level of strength, the strength to finish what she had been dreaming about.

A gun shot rang out. Ashlyn’s head whipped around and she saw Lucas standing there pointing a gun at Ali. She raked her eyes over her body searching for any traces of blood, but found none. She let out a breath that she didn’t know she was holding as she looked up to Lucas with pleading eyes. It was just a warning shot.

“Take one more step and I’ll shoot her, Detective,” he said nervously as he looked back and forth between the two women.

“Just relax. Relax okay,” Ashlyn said as she put her hands up in the air and backed away from Mendez. “I’ll do whatever you say.”

Mendez pushed up off the floor and put all of his strength into a punch that soundly connected with Ashlyn's jaw. She bent over a bit, gripping her jaw with her left hand while her right hand was still up in surrender. “Stupid bitch,” he said through gritted teeth. “Shoot them. Shoot them both,” he ordered Lucas as he looked around for his gun that had been sent flying during the scuffle.

The boy looked terrified as he looked back and forth between Ali and Ashlyn who both had a pleading look in their eyes. He hadn’t killed anyone yet and he certainly didn’t want to start with two beautiful cops.

“Me first,” the blonde begged the boy and she watched as he met her pleading eyes. “Please.”

He turned and walked towards Ashlyn, pushing the gun into her temple. “Okay. You first.”

“I love you,” Ashlyn said quietly as she gave Ali a final loving look and smile before she closed her eyes, feeling the shaking gun pressed to her head. The sound of the shot ripped through the room and Ali winced at the sound. She couldn’t bear to look at just kept her eyes screwed shut, hoping that it would all be over soon.

For a moment, Ashlyn thought she was dead. But when she heard and felt a body drop to the ground next to her, she realized differently. She followed the path of the gun with her eyes, to Brody. He was laying on him stomach, clutching his bleeding stomach with one hand and Rodger’s gun with the other. Rodger’s smoking gun.

It took only a moment for Mendez to react and kick the gun away from Brody’s hand, but in that moment Ashlyn took her chance and charged again. She knocked him to the ground again, but this time he landed a kick to her ribs and she was sent sprawling backwards. Mendez was over her in a second, wearing a wide sneer and menacing look. “Don’t look so scared, Harris,” he said coldly as he looked down at the blonde. “Your time isn’t up yet.” He had grabbed his gun from the floor and pointed it at her shoulder before clicking it off safety. The bang was followed by pain shooting to every inch of Ashlyn’s body. It felt as if her nerves were on fire, but at the same time her body began to feel cold. She tried to focus on deep breaths as she looked up at him, shocked.

“ASHLYN!” screamed Ali, fighting with all of her strength to break free from her bonds to get to Ashlyn’s side. “Ashlyn are you okay!? Leave her alone you sick son of a bitch!” she screamed at Mendez, tears streaming from her angry eyes.

Mendez smiled internally at how upset he had the brunette, but ignored her outbreak for the moment and turned back towards Ashlyn instead. “That’s to keep you from getting any more clever ideas,” he spat as he ground his boot heel into the hole the bullet had just made in her shoulder. She screamed and writhed in pain as the white hot searing pain ripped through her body. “I’m not going to kill you yet, Detective. I want you to see everything I’m about to do.” He dropped down so that his face was hovering inches over Ashlyn’s. She could feel his hot, putrid breath as he continued to speak. “First, I’m going to kill your friend over there,” he pointed his gun to Brody whose body had gone limp again, “and then I’m going to have some fun with your little girlfriend. Thankfully, I’ll be able to give her what she’s been missing out on with you,” he said with an evil glare. “And then after I kill her, making sure to take my time of course, then and only then, I’ll kill you. You think that will send a big enough message not to mess with me?” he asked sincerely. “Yeah four dead cops ought to do that,” he stated like it was nothing.

He stood up to walk towards where Brody was lying to finish the job he had started. Before he could get there, he heard a gun click behind him. He didn’t even have time to turn around before four bullets riddled his body. Ashlyn turned to see Ali standing kneeling behind her holding Lucas’s gun which was aimed at where Mendez had been standing moments before. Her hair was cascading over her shoulders, wet from the tears pouring down her face and her hands were shaking. Her chest was rising and falling rapidly and though her face had a look of anger and determination, she seemed dazed as she took in the scene in front of her.

“Alex,” Ash breathed out, just before she began to black out.


	46. You Win Some, You Lose Some

“How is she?”

A quiet, but gruff voice pulled Ali from her thoughts. She looked back over her shoulder, though didn’t loosen her grip on Ashlyn’s hand. With her free hand she quickly wiped a lone tear that was rolling down her cheek. “She’s…she’s doing okay Lieutenant,” she whispered before turning her gaze back towards the blonde. “She hasn’t woke up from surgery yet, but the Doctor said everything should heal. She lost a lot of blood, but he said we got her here in time so there shouldn’t be any lasting issues. It’s a good thing you guys got there when you did,” she numbly stated, giving Ashlyn’s hand another squeeze.

_“Ashlyn, NO! Don’t you dare leave me!” Ali shook Ashlyn vigorously, not caring about her injuries and only about the fact that she needed her to wake up, to stay awake. The makeshift shirt tourniquet she had tied around Ashlyn’s arm to try to slow the bleeding wasn’t having the desired effect. The pool of blood on the floor was growing and though she wasn’t a doctor she knew that a person shouldn’t be able to lose that much blood and still keep breathing._

_Reluctantly she pulled herself away from Ashlyn and went in search for a phone. She still had no idea where they were, but hoped it wasn’t far from the station, or the hospital for that matter. She wiped the sweat from her forehead and tears from her eyes, smearing Ashlyn’s blood all over her face as she frantically scanned the room. She saw Mendez lying on the floor and knew that he likely had a cell phone on him. With no regard for his lifeless body she kicked him over and then ripped through his pockets before finding what she was searching for._

_Just as she dialed 911, a loud bang came from the other side of the room. Ali grabbed the gun off the ground and pointed it at the door, dropping it only when she was met by a sea of familiar faces led by none other than Lieutenant Pierce._

_“Krieger what’s the status?” he yelled across the room, his gun still raised and trained on the center of the room where the bodies were piled up._

_“Two Detectives down with GSWs to the chest and shoulder,” she rushed out as she ran back to Ashlyn to apply pressure to her wound, ignoring the fact that Rodgers was technically a Detective as well. “Three hostiles, all dead,” she confirmed with a small sense of pride. “We need to get them to the hospital, NOW,” she commanded._

_“Anyone else here?” the Lieutenant asked as he dropped his gun and ran to her side._

_She nudged him off, “I’ve got her. Check, Brody. I don’t think he’s going to make it,” she said through a shaking voice. “There were three others, but they left for the drop. 42 North Ave at 9pm.” Her voice was void of emotion as she tried to balance the thin line between doing her job and breaking down at the loss she had experienced and would possibly experience._

_The Lieutenant called out over his shoulder as he bent over Brody and checked his pulse. He let out a sigh and shook his head. “Send units to 42 North Avenue and pick up the rest of these assholes! And get the medics in here. The building is clean.”_

_Not even a few seconds later, the EMTs came bursting through the door with two gurneys. “Out of the way,” said a younger male EMT to Ali as he slid to the ground next to Ashlyn and began calling out orders to woman working with him._

_Ali watched through the space between them as the working on Ashlyn. “We’ve got a low pulse. We need to move her stat,” he stated before standing up to lower the gurney. “Let’s get her up here,” he instructed, nodding to a few Officers for help. They quickly loaded her and began to make their way outside._

_“Go with her, Krieger,” Ali heard the Lieutenant yell. “She needs you. I’ll be by later.”_

_Ali didn’t even have time to process everything. It was as if she was frozen and the world was rushing by her._

_“KRIEGER, GO!”_

_The Lieutenant’s order snapped her into action and she ran after the EMTs who had just exited the building. She snuck into the back of the ambulance just before they slammed the doors and grabbed Ashlyn’s hand. The whole ride to the hospital, all she could think was how just a few months ago the roles had been reversed. This time as the EMTs worked to bring life back into her girlfriend, she just hoped the results would be the same._

 

“Well Harris was smart and left us a pretty easy trail to follow when she left her phone behind in her squad car. She knew we’d be looking once you, Brody and herself went missing. The call log led us right to Rodger’s and we tracked his cell which he was stupid enough to still have on him.”

“Yeah that’s good,” she quietly answered. After the ordeal she was still in shock and really wasn’t in the talking mood. Though she wondered what happened to Rodgers and the rest of Mendez’s men, her main focus was and always would be Ashlyn. The same Ashlyn that was lying in a hospital bed bruised, beaten and fresh out of surgery.

Lieutenant Pierce came up behind her and gave her shoulder a light, comforting squeeze. Although he wasn’t the most sentimental man, he could tell that his Officer was going through a lot and wanted to be supportive. He patted Ashlyn’s arm gently as she laid in the hospital bed before speaking again. “Harris is a great Detective,” he said, “but an even better person. Don’t let this one go, Krieger.”

Ali’s eyes went wide as she looked up at him. “Wha…what do you mean?” she stuttered, completely caught off guard by his statement.

“You know exactly what I mean,” he replied with a knowing glance, but warm smile.

“You knew?” she asked sheepishly, a slight blush creeping up on her cheeks. She dipper her head back to the bed, unable to meet his gaze.

“It was pretty obvious.” He let out a slight chuckle. “It was fun watching you two try to dance around each other though,” he said ruefully as he thought back on it.

“I’m guessing we’ll all be having a nice meeting when Ash comes back, huh?”

“That we will. You just worry about getting this one better,” he said as he pointed to the bed. “She’ll need all the help she can get. She can be a bit of a baby,” he laughed.

“You got it, sir,” she replied with a nod and a smile of her own. She thought back to what Ashlyn had done for her when she had been shot and knew it was going to be a long few months. Knowing she was alive though made everything worth it, even if it meant having to baby her for a few months.

“Well I’ll leave you two be. I’ll be back tomorrow when she’s hopefully more awake. We still need to get your statements, but I think that can wait until tomorrow. You’ve had quite the day.”

“Have we ever,” Ali managed a small laugh as she shook her head.

“Call me if you need anything at all, Krieger,” the man offered as he ran his hand back and forth over his grey buzz cut.

Ali just nodded in return and let her gaze fall back on Ashlyn as the Lieutenant made his way out of the room. Though she had a broken nose and a few bruised ribs, nothing too serious besides the gunshot wound had occurred. A few bruises peppered her face, but Ali was glad that she was still the same recognizable Ashlyn, at least on the outside. She still hadn’t woken up from surgery so Ali had no idea how should would be mentally speaking. Even she was quite shaken up and just wanted to crawl up in a ball in bed and cry, but there was no way she would leave Ashlyn’s side. Not after what had happened. Not after what Ashlyn was willing to give to spare her life. She wasn’t quite sure she would ever be able to reciprocate that display of love no matter what she did. To be honest, she still couldn’t wrap her mind around it all. As hard as she tried, she couldn’t make any semblance of sense of it all.

As the day’s events caught up to her, she could feel her eyelids getting heavy. It was well past midnight and she was not only physically exhausted, but mentally as well. For a few more minutes she tried to fight it, not wanting to be asleep if Ashlyn happened to wake up, but she was fighting a losing battle. Her eyes slowly closed and she drifted off to sleep while still holding Ashlyn’s hand tightly.

A few hours later a loud beeping noise snapped her from her sleep. She quickly opened her eyes and frantically looked at the very large, very red button blinking on the machine, very loudly.

“No, no, no,” she whispered as she jerked her hand from Ashlyn’s and stood up with a dropped jaw to get a closer look at the monitor. They hadn’t come this far together just to have it fall apart now. “Shit, shit, shit. Do you dare do this to me, Ashlyn Michelle Harris. NURSE!” she yelled, turning towards the door that led to the hallway with the hope that her voice would carry to the nurses station down the hall.

A low chuckle from behind her got her attention and when she turned around she was met with her favorite pair of hazel eyes.

“You used my full name, that usually only happens when I’m in trouble,” Ashlyn whispered out with a small smile.

“Ash…Um…Are you okay?” Ali’s face was muddled with confusion, shock, but most of all relief.

“Yeah…I uhh…I had to pee so I hit the call button for the nurse,” she said with a laugh as she cast her eyes to the nurse who had just entered the room.

She quickly switched off the call button, which Ali thought was much larger and louder than it needed to be.

“Oh…”

“How are we feeling Detective Harris?” the woman asked as she grabbed the clipboard and checked her vitals. “It seems you’ve have a rough day,” she noted as she read over the patient notes.

“Just happy to be alive,” she said with a weak attempt at a wink. “I…I’ve really gotta pee though.”

“Alright,” the nurse chuckled. She was amazed that after everything, having to pee was all the Detective was complaining about. She turned to the cupboard behind her and then turned back around. “Here you go,” she said, as she held the bedpan out to her.

Ashlyn’s jaw dropped as Ali just started hysterically laughing. The day’s events had definitely caught up to her and she couldn’t believe the hilarity of it all.

“Uhh…is…is that my only option?” Ashlyn grimaced, trying to force a smile to cover her reddening cheeks.

“Yep. Doctor’s orders that you can’t get out of bed until he checks you over tomorrow morning.” The nurse biting her bottom lip trying to stifle a smile as well.

Ashlyn turned and shot a playful glare at Ali. “May I have a minute of privacy, dear?” she asked the still chuckling Officer.

“Of course, stud,” Ali said with a smile, finally able to contain her laugh behind the back of her hand. “Let me know when the coast is clear,” she said to the nurse before shooting her a wink.

The nurse grinned and nodded while Ashlyn just groaned in the background. This was clearly not how she thought waking up was going to be. She pictured waking up to Ali’s smiling face (she was drooling when she woke up), whispering a soft “hello” to get her attention (the blaring nurse call button woke her up in a frantic panic) and to have a sweet, cute reunion filled with words of endearment and reassurance (she was being handed a bedpan to piss in and kicking Ali out of the room). Still, she shook her head and laughed. This sort of interaction pretty much defined their relationship and she wouldn’t trade it for the world.

“Do I at least get a kiss, woman?” she said softly as Ali was on her way out of the room.

Ali turned and flashed her million dollar, nose crinkling grin. “Oh right. How could I forget?” she teased.

She walked over to Ashlyn and leaned over her, planting a soft, but passionate kiss on her lips. The warmth radiated between them and neither wanted to break the comforting contact. “Thank you,” she whispered as she pulled back and met her gaze, eyes glistening with a level of sincerity that Ashlyn had never seen before.

There were so many things that needed to be said between them. It wasn’t the “I love you” Ashlyn was expecting; it was so much more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally some happiness for everyone that stuck with me! Only a few chapters left so I hope you enjoy :)


	47. Finally Over

“That bastard,” grumbled Ashlyn as she watched the Lieutenant continue to jot down notes as she told her version of the events that occurred a few days prior. “I should have known.”

The old man looked up over his glasses at Ashlyn who was slouched in her wheelchair. He stopped writing for a minute to rest his hand on Ashlyn’s reassuringly. “Hey, hey fooled us all, Harris. No one had any idea Rodger’s went rogue.”  
“Still. I was working this case for so long. I should have seen the signs,” she whispered, clamping her eyes tight to stave off tears. “I could’ve prevented all of this.”

“Don’t be too hard on yourself, Ash,” Ali stated and gave her a soft, encouraging smile.

“Yeah, Harris. The good guys won in the end. Right, Brody?”

“Right, Lieutenant,” Brody said through gritted teeth. “Although if you could have figured it out before I got shot at point blank range that would have been nice.” He let out a small chuckle, which he immediately regretted when he felt the pain twang through his chest.

Ashlyn shot him a playful glare that quickly turned into a look of gratitude. “Yeah well I didn’t fare too well in this either,” she responded with a smile and pointed to her arm that was secured with a navy blue sling.

“How many stitches did you get, Harris? I got nineteen! They had to open up my chest and everything,” he argued.

“I had seven, BUT yours was a through and through. They had to dig the fragments out of mine. I’ll probably light up airport metal detectors like a Christmas tree for the rest of my life!” she countered.

Ali just looked at the two bickering and trying to one up each other with a look of pure admiration. These two people had risked their lives and literally almost lost them trying to save her. There was no way she’d ever be able to repay them for the second chance at life they had given her.

She was pulled from her thoughts by Brody’s voice. “So Kriegy, what’d you get?” He looked at her teasingly, looking her over and thinking that she hadn’t sustained anything too serious.

“I uh…I got these,” she said, holding up her arms so that her loose, long sleeves slipped down and revealed her heavily bandaged wrists. The skin had been worn raw and torn when she broke free from her duct tape binds in the warehouse and the doctors were worried about infection.

“Oh I didn’t know that,” said Ashlyn sadly, her face riddled with guilt. She couldn’t believe that she hadn’t thought to ask Ali about any of her injuries. 

“It’s no big,” Ali said with a shrug, though she knew the scars would forever serve as a reminder of the worst day of her life. “I also got a concussion,” she said quietly in an attempt to change the conversation.

“From Mendez?” Ash asked, trying to rack her brain and remember her being struck.

“No…uh…from Rodgers. That’s how he got me. He knocked me in the back of the head when we were walking to the car and…and then he threw me in the trunk.”

“Oh,” was all Ashlyn could say. She had immediately become enraged at the thought.

The mood had turned serious and the only sound in the room was when Lieutenant awkwardly cleared his throat. Ali tried to change that. “Well, actually I did get something more painful.”

“What’s that?” Brody asked seriously.

She nodded towards Ashlyn. “I have to put up with her whining for a few months while she recovers.”

No one in the room, besides Ashlyn, could keep the smile from curling up their lips. It soon turned into booming laughs, with Ashlyn eventually joining, as they all released some tension that they had been holding in.

“That might be the worst out of all of us!” Brody laughed softly while grimacing the whole time.

“Alright, alright. Enough of that!” Ashlyn said, shaking her head at the brunette’s truthful comments. She turned a bit more serious when she looked up to the Lieutenant. “So…Mendez?”

“Dead. He’s dead, Rodgers is dead and we caught the deal in time. 15 kilos of coke, no officer casualties and a whole lot of scumbags in cuffs.”

Ash let out a long, contemplative sigh. “It’s finally over.”

“It is,” the Lieutenant nodded. “You three are responsible for taking one of the top East Coast drug dealers down. You should be proud. Anything else either of you three can think of? The case will be pretty cut and dry, but you know how officer involved shootings are.”

The three looked to each other before turning back to the Lieutenant and shaking their heads. He flipped his book closed and tucked the pen into the metal spiral binding. “Very well then. I’ll let you three catch up. As sad as I am to not have three of my tops cops working for a while, I’m glad you three are alright.”

“Thanks Pierce,” they said in unison as the man saw himself out of the room.

A comfortable silence fell over them as they looked around at each other.

Ali finally broke it. “I…I just wanted to say thank you to you both. You risked everything for me and I don’t think I can find any words to describe how thankful I am and how happy I am that you are both alive.”

“Aww look at Krieger getting all sentimental,” Brody teased with a wide grin. “You’re a lucky lady, Harris.”

“You knew too?” Ali said with wide eyes.

Brody laughed as Ash’s eyes swelled as well. “Too? Who else knew?” asked the blonde.

“Uhhh…the Lieutenant.”

“WHAT?”

“You two weren't exactly discreet,” Brody chuckled knowingly. I seem to recall Kinsey saying something about catching you two looking pretty breathless and red in the bathroom sometime last week.”

Ashlyn groaned while Ali smacked her hand to her head as she turned a bright shade of red.

“Guess you guys are in for a nice talk with Pierce when you get back.”

Ashlyn was going to speak up, but Ali cut her off. “We we’re going to tell him after the Mendez bust anyways,” she stated simply and flashed her Detective a confident smile.

The blonde was beaming, knowing that Ali was so confident about it and willing to take that next step. “Yeah we were,” she agreed with a nod.

“Well looks like a lot of things will be changing around that place,” said Brody as he took a small sip of water. “It’s been quite an eventful few days.” He settled back into his bed and got comfortable. After his surgery he was still pretty weak and could feel his eyes closing.

Ali gently nudged Ashlyn to signal that they should leave and let him get some rest. She smiled and pushed Ali out of the room, saying she’d be out in a minute.

“Hey, Brody?” she asked, hoping that he wasn’t asleep yet. There was something she desperately needed to get off her chest, something that had been keeping her up at night, besides the excruciating pain.

“Yeah, Harris?” he responded quietly, sleep quickly overtaking him.

“I just…I wanted to say I’m sorry.”

He slowly peeled his eyes open and met her apologetic stare.

“Don’t worry about it, Ash,” he said, pushing her guilt away. He didn’t want it, didn’t need it.

“I should never have doubted you so quickly. You’re my best friend and I threw that away like it was nothing. I’m truly sorry and I wanted to thank you for what you did for Ali. We wouldn’t be here right now if it weren’t for you. I owe you my life. I just wanted you to know that.”

Brody smiled and raised his fist up to touch to Ashlyn’s. “Hey, Harris I understand. Your girl was in trouble and it did look bad. I don’t hold it against you and I’d do everything again. You and Ali are my family.”

His words truly touched Ashlyn and she felt the same way. Still, she couldn’t shake the guilt. “I know, but-”

“Let it go, Harris,” Brody ordered with a sense of finality. “Let. It. Go.”

She looked down on her friend with a smile. He was the most selfless man she knew and was honored to know him. “You got it,” she said with a nod. “But I’m repaying you by having you over for dinner once a week.”

“Only if Krieger is cooking,” he replied with a wink.

“You got it, bud.” She turned to leave when Brody’s tired voice called her back.

“Harris?”

“Yes?” she asked as she turned to look at him expectantly.

Brody took a settling breath as he looked the nervous blonde square in the eyes. “I know what you did for her. I know you were knowingly trading your life for hers. Not many guys on the force could take a beating like you did and still have the will to fight. You’re the bravest woman I know, Ash.”

“Thanks, Brody.” She was truly touched by his sincerity and wiped the corner of her eye and she turned the wheelchair towards the door.

“One more thing, Harris.”

“What’s that?” she asked inquisitively, turning around one last time.

“You better marry that girl,” he said with a nod out to the hallway where Ali was waiting for her.

A wide, dimpled smile spread across Ashlyn’s face. “Don’t I know it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See Brody wasn't a bad guy ;)


	48. Talk About It

“So…are we ever going to talk about it?”

Ashlyn stopped digging through her bag and looked up to meet the familiar pair of soft, brown eyes. “I thought we already did, Al. We talked to the Lieutenant last week and went over the whole story.”

“That’s not what I mean and you know it, Ash.” Ali’s tone was stern and she had a glare to match that Ashlyn visibly deflated under.

The blonde tossed her bag aside, giving up on finding her phone charger for the moment and turned her attention fully to her girlfriend. “You start?” she asked pleadingly, unsure of exactly where Ali wanted to go with the conversation. She patted the bed signaling Ali to come closer.

The brunette obliged and scooted onto the bed, but sat across from Ashlyn who was still propped up on against the headboard of the bed. She wanted to be close for the conversation, but more so she wanted to be able to look into her eyes; the eyes that let her see straight through the Detective. “Why, Ash? Why did you come? Why didn’t you bring back up?”

The question was straight to the point. There was no beating around the bush and though that was something she usually loved about her partner, that was not the case at the moment. She had expected a few softball questions to gear up for what Ali really wanted to know, but it was not to be. Suddenly, a fraying thread on the hospital bed comforter caught her attention and Ash began to fiddle with it between her fingers while racking her brain for the right answer. How do you tell someone that you would literally die for them. Sure couples say it all the time, “I would do anything for you”, but to actually prove it was something else entirely.

Ali could hear the wheels turning in Ashlyn’s mind and was quite certain she knew what she was thinking. She also knew the blonde had a short attention span and right now the loose thread was winning out. Gently, she set her hands on top of Ashlyn’s to get her attention. When the blonde lifted her eyes Ali gave her a calming smile. “Ash, it’s just me. Talk to me.”

“I don’t know what to say, Alex. I think me showing up there by myself kind of says it all. I was scared, so scared to lose you. I know it was dumb not to bring backup, but I only had twenty minutes and I know Mendez. I knew he wouldn’t hesitate to put a bullet through your head if I was late or if he thought I was bringing people with me. I mean it was all I could do to leave my phone in the car to kind of lay it all out for them.”

“But you just walked in there knowing…knowing,” the conversation was bringing up old emotions, emotions that Ali had tried unsuccessfully to choke down. She wiped a rolling tear before continuing on. “Knowing that you weren’t going to walk back out, Ash.”

It wasn’t phrased as a question, but the way Ali was desperately searching her eyes for an answer made Ashlyn feel like it was. “Yeah,” was all she could answer. There was really nothing else to say.

Ali could sense that the conversation, at least on Ashlyn’s end was over. Besides, she had all the answers she needed as she read Ash’s humble shyness, a stark contrast to her usual cocky confidence. “Well, you’re my hero,” Ali said sweetly and with all the sincerity she could manage.

For the first time, Ashlyn lifted her eyes and willing met Ali’s comforting eyes. “Oh yeah?” she asked, some confidence returning at Ali’s admission.

“Yeah,” she replied as she looked back at the grinning blonde and gave her hand a squeeze.

“Well, technically you’re the hero,” Ash countered with her dimpled grin, her finger pointing back at Ali as she watched her face twist in confusion.

“How so?”

“I’m not the one who shot Mendez. Four times. In the chest,” said Ash with a low chuckle, her mind flashing back to the satisfying image of him lying in a crumpled mess on the ground next to her. She watched as the blush crept up Ali’s neck and cheeks, finding it endearing that as usual Ali was never one to take the credit.

“Well he got what was coming to him,” Ali said with a humble shrug. “He was a dick.”

Now Ashlyn was doing more than chuckling. She was outright laughing. “A dick? Really, Al?”

She simply shrugged again, a small smile creeping up onto her lips. “I’m just glad we all made it out,” she stated honestly, knowing very well how lucky the three of them were to be alive, and for the most part, relatively healthy.

“Me too,” Ash replied solemnly. “I’m just dreading this talk with the Lieutenant,” she replied, her gaze dropping back down while her hands returned to anxiously fidgeting with the thread. She knew there was a chance they would be separated, or one of them sent away. After everything though, she would give up anything to be with Ali if the worst case came true.

“I think we’ll be alright, Ash. He knows what we went through. Besides, we took down the top east coast dealer. You really think he’s going to ship one of us off?”

Ash pursed her lips and nodded her head. Ali had a valid point. “I guess you’re right,” she concluded with a grin. “I just feel bad for my next partner,” she offered.

“Why’s that?” Ali asked, but she could think of a million reasons. Maybe it was how Ash would rap Wu Tang Clan all day, or how she insisted on eating Onion Rings in the car even if that meant stinking it up. Or maybe it was how she said stop signs were “optional” when they were on duty and how she honestly thought cars were supposed to ride on two wheels when going around a curve. It could also be her preponderance to be stubborn and always think she was right, or the fact that she would gloat when she was right, which to Ali’s demise was quite frequent.

“Well, my last two partners got shot, soooo…”

“Oh,” Ali replied, realization hitting her that Ashlyn was being serious.

Ashlyn caught on to Ali’s change of demeanor and narrowed her eyes at the brunette. “Why? What were you thinking?”

Ali knew she was caught. “Nothing!” she squeaked out a bit too eagerly.

“Alexandra…” Ashlyn said in a stern voice.

Luckily for Ali, the doctor walking into the room came to her rescue. “Ah Detective Harris, Officer Krieger,” he said, nodding to both of the women.

“Hey Doc,” Ash smiled brightly, letting Ali off the hook for the moment, but she made a mental note to breach the subject at a later time.

“You ready to get out of here?” the Doctor asked as he looked down at the clipboard and signed a few papers.

“Am I ever!” the blonde replied with a chuckle.

“Well all your release paperwork is filled out, so you’re officially discharged.”

Ali and the Doctor laughed as Ash did a fist pump with her uninjured arm and let out a loud, “Woooooo” that was certainly heard down the hall.

“Ashlyn,” Ali warned, playfully chastising the blonde with an eye roll at how childlike she could be. Ashlyn didn’t need to know that she secretly loved it.

“Well I would remind you to follow all my orders, but I can see that Officer Krieger here will certainly make sure you’re abiding by them,” the Doctor said with a chuckle and smiled even bigger when Ashlyn crossed her arms and playfully pouted. Even the Doctor knew she was whipped.

“Thank you for everything,” Ali said as she reached out to firmly shake the man’s hand. He had been kind and patient with Ashlyn and she really appreciated how he came in every day with a smile on his face and encouraging words. It was refreshing to see and she knew it had helped Ashlyn get her confidence back.

“Of course. If there’s anything you two need, please don’t hesitate to call,” he responded before handing Ali a packet of papers, Ashlyn’s discharge instructions.

He shook the Detective’s hand and accepted her sincere thanks before heading out of the room.

“Ready to get out of here?” Ali asked with a smile, glad she would be able to sleep in a real bed again.

“You know it,” Ash said happily and began to grab her bags from the floor. A soft hand on her arm halted her.

“I’ve got it, Ash. My turn to take care of you stud,” she said as she grabbed the bags from the ground.

“Ohhhh I get Nurse Ali for a few weeks, huh?”

Ali’s smile grew even bigger and she shook her head, knowing Ashlyn was picturing her in a sexy nurse’s outfit. She decided to play into it, “Oh yes you do. And I hear Nurse Ali is a lot better than Nurse Ashlyn.”

“How so?” Ashlyn quirked an eyebrow.

As the Officer leaned forward to grab Ashlyn's drawstring bag from the bed behind her, she whispered into her ear, “I hear that Nurse Ali likes to give, very, very thorough exams. She takes care of her patients very well.”

Ashlyn gulped and could feel the heat creeping up her neck. She definitely couldn’t wait to be home. “Let’s get out of here woman!” she said excitedly. “Quick before they change their mind!”

Ali just laughed as she followed Ashlyn out of the room, lugging both their bags behind her.

The car ride was quiet for the most part. Both of them were exhausted and sharing a small bed in a hospital bristling with noise didn’t do much for either of their sleep patterns. When they came to a red light, Ali turned her attention from the road back to Ashlyn. She could tell she was in deep thought just from the way her jaw was set and how her eyes emotionlessly stared off into the distance.

“You okay?” she asked, nudging her gently with a hand to her knee.

She came out of her trance a bit startled and blinked a few times to focus. “Oh. Uh, yeah. I just…can we stop somewhere quick?”

“Sure, you need something from the store?”

“Not quite. Just turn left on Mason, please.”

Ali was puzzled, but complied. Ash seemed to be doing okay health and energy wise so she wasn’t so worried. She followed the blonde’s directions, only missing a turn once when Ashlyn forgot to tell her before she flew through the intersection, and pulled up to a cemetery. Confusion only filler her for a moment before she realized what they were doing there. “Want me to wait here?” she asked.

Ashlyn just nodded before slipping out of the passenger door and shutting it softly behind her. She made her way down the path, her feet knew the way and she mindlessly wove through the tombstones until she reached the one she was looking for. She set her hand on it gently, before dropping to her knees in front of it.

“Hey buddy,” she said as she looked at the writing on the stone, tears already forming in the corner of her eyes. “I just wanted to let you know that we got him. I kept my promise and we got Mendez. I know it doesn’t make up for the fact that you’re gone, but I just needed you to know that he paid for what he did to you.” She took a deep breath and used her sleeve to wipe her eyes. “I miss you, Walker. I miss you so much man.” Her knees were too weak to hold her up anymore, so she dropped back on her butt and pulled her hand off the headstone. “I met someone. She was my new partner actually,” she stated, letting out a small chuckle. “She’s the one that shot Mendez, but I like her for more than just that reason. You’d have liked her, Walker. She kind of reminds me of you; a real firecracker, take-no-nonsense kind of person. But she also so kind and compassionate…and fiercely loyal. I’m going to ask her to marry me someday and I sure hope she says yes. I might take her to meet Melissa. I think they’d get along, my girlfriend and your wife. I still check up on her and the kids. She’s doing good, man. They’re all doing really well. Thomas even started playing football, quarterback to be exact, just like his daddy.” Ashlyn was starting to get too choked up as she thought about it all. She thought about everything Walker had lost behind and it made her realize what she had been so close to losing. “Well, my woman’s waiting in the car so I should get going. I just…I just wanted to check in bud. I hope now you can rest in peace knowing Mendez will never take another breath. I love you, Walker,” she finished as she kissed her fingers and placed them on the stone in front of her old partner’s grave. “See you soon,” she whispered before trudging back to the car.

When she opened the car door she was met with Ali’s worried stare. “Everything alright?” she asked quietly, not knowing if Ash would be angry or upset or something else entirely. She was pleasantly surprised when Ashlyn just smiled and nodded, threading their fingers together.

“More than. Let’s go home, beautiful,” she said, squeezing Ali’s hand reassuringly.


	49. I Have a Robbery to Report

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so here's the last chapter I have written. I might come up with another one though just because it really bothers me that I stopped at Chapter 49 instead of 50 lol. I hope you all enjoyed it and thanks for those of you that stuck with me through it all! I love interacting with you all and I've got an idea for a new story so hopefully I can get around to start writing it soon :)

“Excuse me, ma’am.”

Ali rolled her eyes as she looked in her side mirror and saw who was approaching.

“Can I help you?” she asked with a coy smile.

“Well, I’m not sure if you noticed, but there was a strict 10 mph speed limit on that driveway you just flew down.”

“Oh is that so, Detective Harris?” She raised her eyebrow and pushed her sunglasses up onto the top of her head.

Ashlyn leaned down and placed her elbows on the open window frame. “Excuse me. That’s Lieutenant Harris to you,” she replied with a cocky grin and wink.

“ARE YOU SERIOUS?!” Ali squealed before pushing her car door open and sending Ashlyn staggering back a few steps.

The blonde quickly recovered and caught Ali as she hurled herself at her. She wrapped her arms tightly around her and planted a sweet kiss on her lips. Usually they weren’t so affectionate at work, but Ashlyn couldn’t deny the beaming brunette anything at the moment.

When she finally placed her back down on the ground Ashlyn smiled proudly. “I’m dead serious. Captain Pierce just told me this morning.”

Ali stood on her tip toes and planted another kiss on her lips. “Wow. My hot wife is going to be a Lieutenant. That is so incredible sexy. I can’t wait to celebrate that later,” she said suggestively as she played with Ashlyn’s collar.

The blonde gulped, resisting the urge to take Ali up against the car. “I…uh…yeah I can’t wait either,” she fumbled out. Even after six years together, her wife still made her nervous. She wouldn’t have it any other way though.

Thankfully, she was saved from her awkwardness as a voice called out over the parking lot. “Hey, Harris! Don’t keep that wife of yours from all of us. We miss her!”  
Ashlyn shook her head as Brody jogged over to where they were standing. He engulfed Ali in a bear hug and lifted her off the ground to spin her around. “How’s my favorite girl?” he asked with a laugh when he set her back down.

“I’m your favorite girl?” Ali asked with a laugh.

Brody nodded like it was obvious and quickly received an elbow in the stomach from Ashlyn. He quickly caught on and smiled as he walked over to the car. He looked in the back window and then gently opened the door. “Okay, okay. This little peanut is my favorite girl,” he said before unbuckling the little Krieger-Harris baby and pulling her from the car. “How’s my little Sophie girl?” he asked as he gently hugged the little girl close.

Ashlyn grinned and laced her fingers with Ali to lead her over to the car. She slapped him gently on the back while looking over his shoulder. “I’d think your goddaughter would be your favorite girl,” she said with a laugh.

Brody placed a kiss on her cheek before passing her off to Ashlyn. “Of course she is. You’re a close second though, Officer Kriegs,” he said with a wink.

The blonde took her daughter from Brody’s arms and placed a kiss on top of her head. She nuzzled into her cascading brown hair and kissed her cheek. “First of all, it’s Krieger- Harris and second of all, she’s a Detective now remember?”

“Oh right. I forgot they promoted you right before you got pregnant with this little one,” he said with a point to her slightly pregnant belly. “When’s the due date?”

“Three months from Friday,” Ali replied, instinctively dropping her hands down to her baby bump.

“Man, Harris you’re pretty good at getting her knocked up,” he fake whispered to Ashlyn as she continued to pretend to eat Sophie’s cheeks, earning her fits of giggles from the little two year old.

“Hey practice makes perfect,” she winked back which earned herself a slap in the arm from her blushing wife.

Brody just laughed at the little family before him. “Y’all are too cute,” he shook his head. “So did you tell Ali the big news?” he asked.

Ali’s smile radiated as she proudly looked up at her wife. “Yes she did. And I guess that means she’s going to be your boss now, huh?” she challenged the smirking man in front of her.

“Heyyy now! I don’t know about that!”

“I think she’s right,” Ashlyn nonchalantly shrugged, knowing it would irk her friend more.

“Whatever,” he grumbled. “Are we still on for dinner tonight? I need some playtime with my favorite girl.” He poked Sophie’s stomach and smiled as she giggled back at him and tried to grab his extended finger.

“Of course. Don’t forget to bring that wife of yours. We know how our wives love to gossip together,” Ashlyn teased.

“You got it boss,” he joked in return. “I’ve got to take care of some things, but I’ll see you three ladies later.” He shared a hug and kiss with each of them before retreating back into the station.

“So Lieutenant, huh?” Ali said, turning her attention back to her wife after Brody ran back into the station.

Ashlyn gulped, unable to ignore the sultry look her wife was giving her at the moment. She knew that look all too well. “Uh…yeah.”

Ali walked over and wrapped her arms around Ashlyn’s waist. She planted a kiss on her daughter’s cheek and then turned her gaze upwards. “Think Brody and Sarah will mind babysitting this little one tonight?”

“Well, I am his boss now,” Ashlyn smirked, knowing exactly where her wife’s mind was at. “I don’t think that’ll be a problem.”

Ali let her hands sink a little lower and she grabbed Ashlyn’s butt to give it a squeeze. “Good. It’s been a while since you put your officer’s uniform to use.” She turned and took her daughter from her wife’s arms and left her standing there with her jaw dropped. After buckling Sophie back into her car seat and handing over her favorite blanket and sippy cup, she turned back to Ashlyn. “Besides, I have a robbery to report, Lieutenant.”

Ashlyn let her cocky, dimpled smirk reach her eyes. “And what’s that?”

Ali closed the gap between them and slid her hands up Ashlyn’s side, bringing them to rest around her neck. “Someone stole my heart,” she whispered, her lips hovering inches over her wife’s.

“Hmmm where have I heard that one before?” Ashlyn asked softly as she closed the distance between their lips.

 

_“Krieger we have a code 421 in your quadrant. All other units are occupied. Can you investigate it?”_

_Ali groaned. She hated being on traffic patrol, but she wasn’t cleared from the investigation yet and it at least let her get back to work._

_“Krieger here. What’s the address?”_

_“An armed robbery was reported at 2411 Grant Street.”_

_Ali was about to respond when it clicked in her head. 2411 was her address, and Ashlyn was home alone recovering still. “I’ve got it!” she practically yelled into the receiver before throwing her car into drive and flooring it towards her house. Her mind was racing and all she could think was the worst case. After everything Ashlyn had done for her and now she was a victim of an armed robbery? She could feel her palms getting sweaty and just hoped that she was going to get there on time._

_Finally, she pulled up at her house. She quickly put the car in park and drew her gun before rushing towards the front door with her gun drawn. She tested the handle and found the door to be unlocked. Weird thing for an armed robbery. After taking a deep breath she pushed the door open, praying that Ashlyn would be okay. They could take anything in the house as long as her girlfriend was okay._

_When the door swung open and the red mess caught her eye, her jaw dropped._

_The floor was littered with rose petals, candles sitting on every conceivable platform. In the middle of it all, was Ashlyn, grinning widely._

_For a moment, Ali still couldn’t process what was happening, even as Ashlyn stepped towards her and took her hand in her own._

_“Ash…what...what is going on?” She was completely shocked and the cop in her was screaming that someone had called in an armed robbery. This was all too calm to be a crime scene. “Whose getting robbed?”_

_“I did,” Ash stated simply._

_“You…What?” She began to ramble, still confused, until she saw Ashlyn drop to one knee. Then in clicked._

_“I got robbed the minute you walked into my life, guns blazing with your sarcastic comments and shameless flirting. You see the thing is, you stole my heart the second I met you Alexandra Blaire Krieger. I was broken and I didn’t even know it. You stole it and without me even knowing, you put the pieces of it back together and made me full again. I’ve never truly known love until I met you and there is no one else on this planet that I would want to spend the rest of my life with. You’re it for me and I promise to spend my life proving that to you. Will you please do me the honor of marrying me?”_

_Tears were streaming down Ali’s face at the blonde’s words. “Of course I will,” she finally shrieked as she threw her arms around Ashlyn’s neck. She kissed her passionately before pulling back for a second. “Are you sure about this though?”_

_Ashlyn was a bit taken aback. “Am I sure? Wha-?”_

_“You know because you’re a Detective and I’m obviously a felon and all,” she teased with a wide, brilliant smile._

_“Smooth, Officer Krieger.”_

_“Soon to be Officer Krieger-Harris, Detective.”_

 

“Oh I remember where,” she replied as she softly shut the driver’s side car door where her wife was buckling in. “And if I seem to recall, you’re a felon, right?”

“That’s why I told you to dust off your uniform, stud. Don’t forget to bring your handcuffs home too.” With a wink, Ali slowly pulled away, leaving her slack-jawed wife alone with her dirty thoughts. "See you at home tonight!" she said with a sweet smile, though Ashlyn could see the hint of mischievousness in her eyes.

As Ashlyn watched her wife pull away, she thought back to everything that had happened over the last few years of her life. After Walker's death and Jenna leaving her, she had once thought that happiness just wasn't in the cards for her. Now here she was with a promotion, a gorgeous wife, a beautiful little girl with a baby boy on the way, and it was all because of Ali. Every fight, every kiss, every word of encouragement and show of support. She let out a content sigh and couldn't fight the smile that curled up onto her lips as she watched Ali wave exaggeratedly to her before pulling out of the station. _God I love that woman._


	50. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally got around to writing the last chapter/epilogue for this one! Thanks for reading :)

“Ashlyn! Come here!” Ali called in a flustered voice that brought the blonde rushing into the room.

“What’s wrong?” Ash hurriedly asked with wide eyes as her eyes scanned the room to find out what had Ali so worried.

Ali laughed at her wife’s frazzled state and pointed to the roll of blue streamers lying on the kitchen table. “Can you hang these outside?” she asked sheepishly, suddenly realizing she didn’t need to sound so frantic when she yelled for her wife.

Ashlyn just groaned and grabbed them off the wooden table. “Of course, princess,” she said with a playful eye roll as she went to hang them around the porch. “When is everyone coming over?”

Ali followed her wife to the back door and halted to lean on the doorframe. “Should start arriving in fifteen minutes or so,” she said casually as she takes in her wife’s strong frame while she reaches on her tiptoes to hang the streamers from the awning. She subconsciously licked her lips at the image, but was caught in the act.

“Really?” Ash asked with a cocky smirk that showed off her dimple. “Your daughter is sitting right behind you in the living room,” she added with a pointed glance.

Ali just shrugged innocently as she stared back at her wife with a raised eyebrow. “Can’t help it,” she said with a shrug before turning and heading back inside leaving her wife standing on the porch shaking her head in amusement.

Ashlyn finished up with the streamers just as the first guests began to arrive. She walked inside and tossed the streamers into the pantry when she heard the doorbell ring. “Baby they’re here!” she called out to Ali as she made her way to the front door, sweeping Sophie off the couch and giving her a kiss on the cheek on the way.

“Hey Lieutenant!” exclaimed Kyle from the other side of the door when Ashlyn pulled it open. Without even giving her a chance to reply he quickly wrapped her and Sophie up in his muscular arms, only pulling back from the hug when he heard a throat clear behind him.

“Hey Deb,” Ashlyn said with a warm smile as Kyle moved aside to reveal her in-laws standing there, Ken with an armful of presents. “Ken,” she added with a nod towards the older man.

“Hello dear,” Ali’s mom replied as she pulled Sophie from her arms. “How’s my favorite little granddaughter?” she asked as she hugged the little girl close. “This dress is adorable,” she commented as she looked at the pink dress she was wearing.

“Let me guess, Alex picked that gem out?” Ken asked with a chuckle as he shot Ash a commiserating grin when he noticed the frilly ruffles on the bottom.

“What was that dad?” came Ali’s voice from the top of the stairs. She quickly descended them and gave her dad a playful glare as she welcomed her family into the house.

“Nothing,” he said with a sheepish grin. “Where’s my grandson at?”

Pulling back from her brother’s tight hug Ali looked to her father. “He’s upstairs napping. I’m going to head up now to get him,” she said and turned to leave when she felt a hand on her arm pulling her back.

“I’ll go get him!” Kyle squealed before peeling up the stairs before anyone could argue.  
Ali shook her head before leading everyone to the porch. Her father set the presents down on the table they had set up and then settled next to Deb on the porch bench, grabbing the beer Ashlyn extended for him. They made small talk and caught up for a bit before Kyle slid open the back door.

“There’s my favorite little guy!” Ken said with a beaming smile as he looked at his grandson. When he saw Kyle’s face scrunch in mock anger he laughed and added, “You’re my favorite big guy, Kyle.”

Kyle decided that was enough for him and handed off the boy to his grandpa.

“Wow look how big he is!” Ken said as he held him up in the air. “Can’t believe this handsome little man turned a year old today!”

Ali leaned into Ashlyn’s side and the blonde wrapped her arm tightly around her. “You can’t believe it? How do you think we feel?” she asked incredulously as she thought back to the day that he was born.

 

_“Hey, Harris your cell phone has been buzzing like crazy!” Brody called out as Ashlyn made her way back into the diner. She had just been on a work call for fifteen minutes and had left her phone on the table when she stepped out. She was about to grab her phone when Brody’s started ringing._

_“Brody here…Yeah…Yep …Here she is.” He extended the phone to Ashlyn, “It’s your wife.”_

_Ash hurriedly grabbed it and pulled it to her ear, “Alex, is something up?” she asked, knowing Ali wouldn’t call Brody unless it was something important._

_“Um you could say that,” Ali said in a short, distracted tone._

_“What’s going on?”_

_“My water broke. I’m going into labor and I needed you here like fifteen minutes ago,” she said breathlessly as she fought back another wave of pain._

_“Oh. Ohhh shit. Okay, I’ll be there in ten minutes baby. Hang tight!” She handed the phone back to Brody. “Ali’s in labor and I’m going to the hospital. Call you later!” she yelled over her shoulder as she sprinted out the door and past the waitress who was bringing over her food._

_She sped all the way home, silently thankful for the fact that she could use the lights on the car to get there faster. Once she had reached the house she loaded Ali and Sophie up in the car with their bags and drove straight to the hospital where Ali’s mom had met them to watch their daughter._

_Six hours –and a lot of cursing later- Ali was coated in a light sheen of sweat and holding a baby boy while Ashlyn sat next to her with her arm slung over them protectively._

_“He’s got your nose,” Ash said with a smile as she placed her finger gently on the baby boy’s cute little nose._

_It made Ali sad for a moment that she couldn’t point out something of Ashlyn’s that the little boy had and she could see from the wrinkles in Ashlyn’s forehead that the blonde was thinking along similar lines. Thinking quickly, she responded, “Well I hope he gets your humor and sense of dedication and loyalty. And hopefully your romantic side so one day he can make his wife as happy as you make me,” she said quietly with a tired smile._

_Ashlyn’s face lit up as she looked down at her wife with a look of pride. “So what do we call the little guy?” she asked pensively as she slid her finger into the boy’s hand, smiling when he squeezed it tightly._

_“I was thinking…Walker?”_

_“Really?” Ash asked with a wide eyed expression that showed how touched she was._

_“Really,” Ali replied simply as if it was the most obvious thing. She knew Ash likely wouldn’t even be there if not for Walker and she owed the man she had never met for everything she now had._

_“Hmmm… Walker Brody Krieger-Harris. I like that.”_

_Ali groaned and rolled her eyes playfully. “You know Brody will never let us hear the end of it,” she said with a laugh._

_“Don’t I know it,” she replied with a laugh as she leaned down to place a kiss on Walker’s head._

_“Walker Brody…” she said slowly, letting the words roll of f her tongue. “Our baby boy named after two of the bravest men we know. I love it,” Ali agreed._

 

“I told you they grow up fast,” Deb said with a contemplative grin, which pulled Ashlyn out of her thoughts, as she looked down at Walker in her arms.

The doorbell rang again and Ashlyn quickly hopped up so Ali could relax with her family. She made her way to the door and pulled it open to find Brody and his gorgeous wife Jackie standing behind it.

“Harris!” he called and shoved a giant wrapped box in her hands before quickly pushing past her. “Where’s my little munchkins at?” he asked while excitedly looking around.

Ashlyn laughed as she hugged Jackie. “Out back with the Krieger clan!” When he made a beeline to the porch she added, “You’ve got grandparent’s for competition today,” with a chuckle as she tucked the present under her arm and led the other woman towards the party.

_____

 

Hours later, after presents had been opened, cake had been eaten and voracious laughs had been shared and guests had slowly made their way home, Ashlyn came up behind Ali who was sprawled out on the couch with a sleeping Sophie lying her head on her thigh and Walker curled up in her arms.

“I can’t believe so many people showed up today,” Ashlyn said with a warm smile as she thought back to just hours ago when their backyard had been filled with over forty of their closest friends and family. Just a few years ago, she never would have thought this was possible. Not only did she think she never would have settled down, she didn’t think she would love it as much as she did.

Ali looked up at her with a beaming smile that set Ash’s heart on fire. “I know. It was amazing to see everyone come together for Walker’s first birthday. Especially both of our families.” She patted the couch next to her and Ash quickly slipped in next to her and wrapped her arm around her wife’s shoulders.

Ash leaned her head on Ali’s shoulder and took a deep breath. “It’s crazy. Who would have thought six years ago that we’d be at this point now?”

A wild laugh erupted from Ali’s mouth that startled Sophie and sent her scampering to Ashlyn’s arms. “Not me!” she said while still laughing.

Ashlyn comforted her daughter with a kiss as she shot her wife a confused grin and waited for her to elaborate.

“What? I never would have thought that the cocky and arrogant asshole of a Detective I met my first day with the new Department would turn out to be the kindest, most loyal and dedicated woman I’ve ever known. Everything we’ve been through to get here has been more than worth it. I wouldn’t trade it or this for anything, Ashlyn.” She looked at her wife with such fierce sincerity that Ashlyn could read her exact emotions just through her eyes.

“None of it? Not even getting shot?” she asked with a chuckle.

Ali just shrugged as a sly smile crossed her face. “I think it makes me look like a badass. Besides, word on the street is, my wife digs scars,” she said in a sexy voice as she leaned in to place a chaste kiss on her wife’s lips.

“Oh I definitely do,” Ashlyn said with a wide grin as she flashed her dimple. “What do you say we put these kids to bed and you can show me just how much of a badass you are, Detective?”

“I’m all yours, Lieutenant.”


End file.
